Could we see Al Iaquinta vs. Dustin Poirier in the future?
Poirier is coming off his UFC Lightweight title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Al Iaquinta wasn’t impressed with Dustin’s performance at UFC 242. The Lightweight feels that he can beat the #2 ranked fighter (Transcript courtesy of
MMA Junkie):
“He doesn’t have a fight coming up. That’s the fight,” Iaquinta said on Monday on
“Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.” “The UFC just has to call him. I called Hunter, I texted Sean Shelby, I said that’s the fight, and I’m pretty sure – maybe they didn’t offer it to him, but if they did, he turned it down. So either way, your offer is extended now, and that’s it.
“I think it’s a good fight; he thinks his stock is a lot higher than it is. He got choked out unconscious (by Khabib) – not unconscious, he would have gotten choked out unconscious before the deed could be done, so he’s pretty much, whatever. I think that’s the fight that needs to be made.”
Poirier responded by taking shots at the 32-year-old's record, who’s lost his last two fights against Dan Hooker and Donald Cerrone:
Despite Iaquinta currently on a two-fight losing streak, the New York native strongly feels he can beat Poirier inside the octagon:
“He said he doesn’t have a fight coming up, no one wants to fight him,” Iaquinta said.
“He thinks he’s like the No. 1 contender, but he’s really not. I fought Khabib on like a freakin’ minute’s notice. Kevin Lee is ranked ahead of me, but the rankings, I don’t know. That’s the fight to make. (Poirier) said, ‘Oh, I want an exciting fight.’ He’s going to get an exciting; I’m going to (expletive) him up.
“Put me against Dustin Poirier right now in my freakin’ garage. I’ll beat the (expletive) out of him.”
Poirier has listed his demands to fight Iaquinta and they’re pretty reasonable:
Will we get Dustin Poirier vs. Al Iaquinta soon? We’ll find out in the upcoming weeks.