Dustin Poirier says Nate Diaz looked like “dog shit” against Mike Perry at MVP MMA 1 and offered a blunt assessment of where Diaz is at in his career, while reiterating his desire to fight his longtime rival.
Diaz lost to Perry by corner stoppage after the second round on Saturday’s Netflix card. In his post-fight media, Diaz said he has no interest in fighting anyone who is retired — a shot at Poirier, who retired last year. Poirier responded on his show Deep Waters.
“We’ve been circling each other for years and years and years. We could have fought. He knows that. I wish he would be honest with the fans and say he pulled out, or didn’t come to terms with the UFC, whatever it was, for the couple of times we were supposed to fight, that it never happened. But dude, after the way he looked on Saturday night, he can’t talk right now. He needs to take a break. He needs to go get some sleep and rest. Not me, you know. He looked like dog shit. He looked horrible. He looked like he didn’t want to be in there, looked like a punching bag, looked off balance, his timing was horrible. I mean, when somebody loses, I don’t like to shit on them too hard, but he knows. He looked horrible.”
Poirier said his offer to fight Diaz still stands, even if it means coming out of retirement.
“My invitation is still out there. At 170, I’ll go back in the drug testing protocol, whatever. I will knock Nate Diaz complete out. It’s crazy that he’s bringing me up in a post-fight. Apparently, he wants to fight, or he’s thinking about it. And it’s just like, after a performance like that, it’s like, what am I doing? It’s like I’m picking on somebody if I’m chasing Nate Diaz, the way he’s looking. It’s like I’m picking on the easy fight, easy win. But Nate Diaz, I will knock you clean out if we fight.”
Despite the harsh words, Poirier made clear his criticism comes from a place of genuine concern.
“Listen, bro, even though I talk about Nate, and I want to beat his ass, I’m a fan. I’ve been a fan of him and his brother for a long time. But that was the worst I’ve ever seen him. He’s just 41 years old and has a million miles. You can’t keep that fighting style, the way he fights, forever. It’s coming to the end.”
Poirier would need to be released from his UFC contract to pursue a fight with Diaz outside the promotion.