Al Iaquinta went on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday and during his interview called Dustin Poirier to fight him next.
“He doesn’t have a fight coming up. That’s the fight,” Iaquinta told Helwani. “The UFC just has to call him. I called Hunter, I texted Sean Shelby, I said that’s the fight, and I’m pretty sure – maybe they didn’t offer it to him, but if they did, he turned it down. So either way, your offer is extended now, and that’s it.
“I think it’s a good fight; he thinks his stock is a lot higher than it is. He got choked out unconscious (by Khabib) – not unconscious, he would have gotten choked out unconscious before the deed could be done, so he’s pretty much, whatever. I think that’s the fight that needs to be made.”
“He said he doesn’t have a fight coming up, no one wants to fight him,” Iaquinta continued. “He thinks he’s like the No. 1 contender, but he’s really not. I fought Khabib on like a freakin’ minute’s notice. Kevin Lee is ranked ahead of me, but the rankings, I don’t know. That’s the fight to make. (Poirier) said, ‘Oh, I want an exciting fight.’ He’s going to get an exciting; I’m going to (expletive) him up.
“Put me against Dustin Poirier right now in my freakin’ garage. I’ll beat the (expletive) out of him.”
At first Poirier wasn’t overly pleased about having been asked to fight.
“@ALIAQUINTA Bro you won 2 fights in the last 5 years…. pipe down,” Poirier wrote on Twitter. “I promise you I didn’t give up in that fight.”
Nevertheless, Poirier went on to suggest that the bout could happen, albeit with a few caveats thrown in.
“Hey @ALIAQUINTA if they pay me right and you down to do it at 170lbs I’ll fight you.”
