In a generation of money fights, fighters can’t be blamed for choosing to take up bouts with bigger pay. Especially over the ones that help them climb the rankings. Thus, it is rare to see someone challenging themselves when they clearly have another option with a much bigger payout, especially when the option is to fight Conor McGregor. Dustin Poirier seems to be going in that exact direction, and former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen has commended the Lightweight for the same.

Sonnen, in this video, while talking about McGregor’s next fight, pointed out his respect toward Poirier for taking a different route.

Chael Sonnen on Dustin Poirier choosing his legacy over big fights like Conor McGregor

Any discussion on McGregor would be incomplete without talking about Dustin Poirier. The duo has faced each other thrice with the American winning two of them. The last time they faced each other, it was a main event to the UFC 264 card. Although uncommon, it’s natural to talk about a fourth fight considering it would be a huge seller for the UFC. As Sonnen talked about the Irishman’s future, he claimed that Dustin Poirier, unlike others, has taken a very different direction. 

The 45-year-old stated “It looks like at least for the short term that Dustin Poirier has gone in a different direction.”

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He then goes on to describe his respect for Poirier. “I can’t even tell you how much I respect that and if he wants to change his mind I won’t lose respect for Poirier.” 

The UFC Hall of Famer also found it interesting that Poirier would risk his stardom to face someone as challenging as Beneil Dariush or Islam Makhachev.

“Poirier is still hungry, real hungry. Stardom and power of Dustin Poirier,(he) would go in there with Benny and put it all on the line right, it’s really interesting,” claimed Sonnen, pointing to Poirier’s hunger as the main motivation.

Sonnen is right with the use of the term ‘different direction’, considering the pay involved with fighting McGregor and the fact that Poirier doesn’t seem interested in it.

Dustin Poirier wants to “test” his hands but not against Conor McGregor

The former Lightweight Interim champion has undoubtedly earned his respect as a top fighter in the promotion. And as for any top fighter, Poirier still has his sights set on the upper echelons of the Lightweight division. In an interview, when asked about the idea of testing his grappling against Islam Makhachev, Poirier had an interesting response.“I’d like to test my hands” responded the Louisiana born 33-year-old.

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This statement clearly is a reflection of what Chael Sonnen had to say about him. Especially when Poirier has the option of choosing to take on Conor McGregor again.

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Chael Sonnen seemed to have spoken what many already believed to be true of Poirier. The Lightweight has never stepped back from any challenge and his record speaks of it. With fights against Justin Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Max Holloway, etc his resume speaks for itself.