UFC gold continues to elude Dustin Poirier. He came close to laying his hands on the undisputed title twice, but he failed to close the business. This time, the lightweight stalwart fought Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. With the BMF title on the line, he found himself at the receiving end of an unexpected head kick that dropped him on the mat and shattered his dreams once more. ‘The Diamond’ failed to shine in the touted title eliminator. With age catching up to him, does a loss at this crucial junction mean the end of the road for him?

Michael Bisping doesn’t think so. The former UFC champion continues to deposit his trust in the lightweight fighter despite the latest loss. He believes Poirier has plenty of fight left in him and that a perfect story awaits him.

Michael Bisping lauds Dustin Poirier despite the burden of an anguishing loss

Bisping recently sat down with Anthony Smith in the latest episode of their podcast, and UFC 291 results dominated their discussions. ‘The Count’ further pointed out the fresh changes in the rankings. Notably, the recent loss resulted in Poirier swapping rankings with ‘The Highlight’ and he currently sits at the #3 rank. Besides, Bisping showed his unwavering faith in Poirier’s skills as he predicted a fairy tale for him.

Bisping said, “He’s [Dustin Poirier] back to the drawing board, isn’t he? I mean, you know, he doesn’t drop down too far significantly in the rankings. It is what it is. He’s still a big star.” He continued, “He’s still only 34 years old. Got a few more years. You never know. You know, he can still come back and become a champion one day, and what a story that would be.”

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The UFC Hall of Famer believes the latest loss hasn’t removed Poirier from the title picture. His co-host shared the same views. However, he appears to have changed his stance.

Anthony Smith now stands in Poirier’s corner

‘Lionheart’, while discussing the dynamics of the fight, had previously declared, “The loser probably takes himself out of title contention forever.” But in the conversation with Bisping, the light heavyweight fighter has mellowed his stand.

In addition, he mentioned only a fight or two separates Poirier from another title shot. Smith said, “With him being who he is and what he’s done, it wouldn’t take much to get him back to a title fight. You know, it would be one, maybe two [fights]. Puts him right back. He’s not far away.”

Gaethje has now established himself as the next in line and is ready for his title shot. He will fight the winner of the Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira bout set for UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Poirier has to take a step back and assess his options.

What do you think of these comments by Michael Bisping? Do you believe Dustin Poirier is still in the title picture? Let us know in the comments below.

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