Since a 2014 loss to UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier has gone 5-1 with a no-contest vs. Eddie Alvarez, positioning himself well ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 120 bout.
Now, “The Diamond” gets another shot at knocking off a former UFC titleholder, as he faces Anthony Pettis in the main event from Norfolk, Virginia.
His May fight with Alvarez ended early after illegal knees were landed. But Poirier (21-5) has scored wins over Jim Miller, Bobby Green and Joseph Duffy in recent memory. He knows Pettis is a stiff challenge, but has found an opening he plans to exploit.
“I’ve been working on my wrestling at American Top Team,” he said. “I feel like that’s his biggest hole in his game. We know he has amazing kickboxing.”
Where would a win over Pettis put Poirier in the pecking order? He believes right on track to face either Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov or Edson Barboza next. Those four meet over the next several months.
