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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 13: (L-R) UFC President Dana White places the interim lightweight championship belt on Dustin Poirier after defeating Max Holloway in their interim lightweight championship bout during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 13: (L-R) UFC President Dana White places the interim lightweight championship belt on Dustin Poirier after defeating Max Holloway in their interim lightweight championship bout during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Dustin Poirier is definitely an MMA superstar now. While ardent fans would make the case that Poirier reached that status a while back, knocking out Conor McGregor within two rounds is a star-making moment that not many can boast of. Especially when it is on a card that has now been certified as the second biggest UFC card of all-time.
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The Lightweight Division is in limbo right now, as Khabib Nurmagomedov definitely looks to be relinquishing his title. As a result, many presumed that Conor McGregor vs Poirier would be for the Lightweight title at UFC 257. However, it wasn’t, and now Poirier is the certified number one contender. But ‘The Diamond’ believes he is already holding the belt, as he has made known on Twitter.
Im already the champ https://t.co/88P6nQtewW
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) January 26, 2021
While one can make the case for Poirier being the champ after that win over Conor, there is a technical flaw with that. Poirier weighed in at 156 pounds, which wouldn’t allow him to get the title based on that win. However, everyone knows that Poirier is the best candidate for champion with Khabib gone.
Dustin Poirier: The uncrowned king?
While Khabib still has the crown, everyone is getting ready to give it to Poirier. Commissions may not recognize Dustin Poirier as a champion because he weighed-in at 156 for his last fight. However, everyone will look at Dustin as the de facto champion with Khabib gone.
Imago
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JANUARY 23: (R-L) Dustin Poirier punches Conor McGregor of Ireland in a lightweight fight during the UFC 257 event inside Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 23, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
The only way to make this official is by getting Dustin another fight against a top contender. They can also explicitly state it as a title fight, so no fighter misses out on the weight limit. He has a host of ready opponents, with Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira at the front of the line.
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Former rivals like Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje, and Tony Ferguson also claim to have a stake at the belt. It will be interesting to see how the UFC books themselves to get out of this situation. But for now, everyone has to admit that Poirier is the uncrowned king of the division. Hopefully, he gets a chance at making it official sooner rather than later.
