Dustin Poirier, Al Iaquinta Call for UFC Release After Lightweight Title Snub
Georges St.
Pierre will reportedly announce his retirement from MMA at a
press conference in Montreal today, but it is the situation
surrounding that announcement that has two Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight
contenders voicing their displeasure.
Reports suggest that the UFC was trying to organize a match between former welterweight and middleweight champ St. Pierre and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, but negotiations fell apart, leading “GSP” to retire from the sport officially. The UFC’s lightweight division has had a logjam of contenders at the top for quite some time, due to Conor McGregor taking a hiatus from MMA immediately after winning the title and the seemingly cursed nature of the Khabib Nurmagomedov-Tony Ferguson matchup, and two of the men caught in that logjam did not take kindly to the news that the UFC had been attempting to book another interdivisional super-fight rather than work towards sorting out the lightweight division.
Once Poirier heard the failed negotiations between Nurmagomedov and
St. Pierre, he took to his Twitter account to voice his frustration
and ask the UFC to release him:
“These guys should just release me,” Poirier wrote.
Iaquinta, seemingly also frustrated with the news, joined in with Poirier:
“Release me too. F*ck this [sh*t], it’s not even a sport anymore,” Iaquinta tweeted. “I’ll be on Georges’ undercard tomorrow.”
Poirier has been on a tear since moving up to the lightweight division going 4-0 including one no-contest in his last five fights. Iaquinta pulled off a huge win in his last fight, soundly outboxing Kevin Lee in their rematch in December. “Ragin Al” also went the distance with Nurmagomedov in the makeshift main event of UFC 223 last April.
Reports suggest that the UFC was trying to organize a match between former welterweight and middleweight champ St. Pierre and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, but negotiations fell apart, leading “GSP” to retire from the sport officially. The UFC’s lightweight division has had a logjam of contenders at the top for quite some time, due to Conor McGregor taking a hiatus from MMA immediately after winning the title and the seemingly cursed nature of the Khabib Nurmagomedov-Tony Ferguson matchup, and two of the men caught in that logjam did not take kindly to the news that the UFC had been attempting to book another interdivisional super-fight rather than work towards sorting out the lightweight division.
Advertisement
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) February 20, 2019
These guys should just release me.
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) February 20, 2019
“These guys should just release me,” Poirier wrote.
Iaquinta, seemingly also frustrated with the news, joined in with Poirier:
— A1 Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) February 20, 2019
I’ll be on Georges undercard tomorrow
— A1 Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) February 20, 2019
“Release me too. F*ck this [sh*t], it’s not even a sport anymore,” Iaquinta tweeted. “I’ll be on Georges’ undercard tomorrow.”
Poirier has been on a tear since moving up to the lightweight division going 4-0 including one no-contest in his last five fights. Iaquinta pulled off a huge win in his last fight, soundly outboxing Kevin Lee in their rematch in December. “Ragin Al” also went the distance with Nurmagomedov in the makeshift main event of UFC 223 last April.
Related Articles
