While Poirier plans on fighting again in the future, it is meaningful fights or bust for the former champion.
“That doesn’t get me excited (fighting Dan Hooker),” Poirier told MMA Junkie. “I think it would be a fun fight. That guy is a good fighter, and he’s on the up, he’s been looking really good and beaten some tough guys. But it’s just not that exciting to me. I want there to be something more than just a fight. I want there to be something on the line. I know what he’s trying to do, and he’s doing a good job. He’s trying to make some noise and work his way up the ladder, and that’s what he’s doing. Hat’s off to him. But just right now to accept a fight, I want to be excited about it, and I’m not excited about that.”
Dan Hooker did call out Poirier for a future bout, but that request was promptly shut down by the former interim lightweight champion.
Poirier does have some future opponents in mind, including some previous opponents and another former interim lightweight champion.
“I would give Gaethje a rematch if he wanted it, (or) Conor obviously,” Poirier said. “I would love to fight Tony. I’ve been wanting to fight Tony. A rematch with Khabib, that feels so far away looking at the whole picture, but if there was a fun fight at 170, I would go to 170. I wouldn’t stay there; it wouldn’t be my home. But I would definitely go there for a fight or two if it made sense. That’s just where I’m at right now. I want to have fights that are meaningful, I want to have fights that are exciting, and I want to be excited about the matchup. It all depends on the opponent and what they call me with. The when, the where, the who.”
There is no word yet on when Poirier will fight again, but all three fighters he mentioned in the above statement also don’t have fights booked at the moment.
