Dustin Poirier will be battling former UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 211.
The lightweight contender feels that a win over Alvarez will put him in line for a title shot.
“A win over Eddie Alvarez would put me right there fighting for the title,” Poirier told MMA Junkie Radio. “That would put me at 6-1 in the lightweight division with a win over the former champ. It’s not like I’m a guy who just stumbled into the top 10. … I’ve been in title eliminator fights before at featherweight. I’m not a new guy to the block, and I’ve been putting in work. This guy was just a champion. If I go out there and put a stamp on Eddie Alvarez, I think I’m one win away.”
Poirier has only suffered a single defeat since moving to the lightweight division, which is currently championed by Conor McGregor. Originally, the fight at UFC 211 was supposed to be between Poirier and Michael Chiesa, but then things fell apart.
“I was asking about Chiesa for a while, and they were kind of dancing around the fight,” he said. “… Young guys in the sport, you play the game too much like that and you get passed over. He could’ve had the fight, but now he doesn’t.”
UFC 211 takes place on Saturday, May 13 from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas with Stipe Miocic and Junior Dos Santos headlining. Fightful will be providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
