Nate Diaz mocks Dustin Poirier for turning down fight with Paddy Pimblett: ‘He’s better than you’
Former lightweight favorite, Nate Diaz has rekindled his rivalry with former interim gold holder, Dustin Poirier for turning down the idea of taking on Paddy Pimblett in his potential retirement fight — claiming the Liverpool grappler is a “better” fighter than his long-time foe.
Diaz, a former lightweight championship challenger, exited the promotion back in 2022, landing a late guillotine choke submission win over former interim champion, Tony Ferguson in an impromptu UFC 279 headliner on just days’ notice.
However, linked with a return to action under the UFC umbrella in the years since, Nate Diaz has yet to make good on a long-mooted comeback, most recently taking on fellow veteran, Jorge Masvidal in a professional boxing match — avenging a defeat in a close decision win.
As for Poirier, earlier this week, the Lafayette veteran confirmed he was hoping to score a big-name opponent for his potential final foray in the Octagon — rather than a pairing with former Cage Warriors kingpin, Pimblett.
“It’s 100% not gonna be [against] Paddy Pimblett,” Dustin Poirier told. “Legends only. I’m not gonna retire fighting Paddy Pimblett.”
Nate Diaz rips Dustin Poirier for playing down Paddy Pimblett matchup
And on his official Instagram Stories this week, Diaz fired back at Poirier’s playing down of a clash with Pimblett — labelling him a “p*ssy” and suggesting the latter if an overall “better” fighter than the veteran lightweight mainstay.
“Fight Paddy (Pimblett), p*ssy,” Nate Diaz posted in reply to Dustin Poirier. “He [is] better than you.”
Once slated to fight Poirier on the main card of UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden, a pairing between the former and Diaz fell to the wayside with both pointing the blame on each other for the scuppered matchup.
Sidelined since June of last year, Louisiana fan-favorite, Poirier most recently fell short in his third undisputed title bid in the organization, suffering an eventual fifth round D’Arce choke submission loss to pound-for-pound pacesetter, Islam Makhachev in Newark, New Jersey.
