With a five-round non-title fight topping their March Pay-Per-View, the UFC is lining up another big fight for what is expected to be the UFC 272 co-feature.
In addition to Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington as its five-round main event, UFC 272 is the potential landing spot for Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier. Multiple sources familiar with the situation confirmed the news to Cageside Press on Tuesday, on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Both fighters have agreed in principle to the match-up, but contracts have yet to be signed. Poirier and Diaz previously agreed to a potential bout during an exchange on social media.
If the fight comes together as planned, UFC 272 will feature two of the promotion’s biggest non-champion draws in Masvidal and Diaz, offering fight fans a one-two punch in absence of a belt being on the line.
Poirier (28-7, 1NC) fought just weeks ago, coming up short against Charles Oliveira in his quest to claim lightweight gold. “The Diamond” found himself submitted in the third round of the UFC 269 main event. Prior to that, Poirier had won three straight, including back-to-back wins over Conor McGregor, first by TKO, then by way of a doctor’s stoppage in the rubber match of their trilogy, with McGregor suffering a broken leg.
Diaz (20-13) has lost back-to-back fights, but as has long been the case with the Stockton native, losses don’t seem to hurt his stock all that much. In his last outing, he went five rounds with Leon Edwards, egging his opponent on in the final frame en route to losing a unanimous decision.
In his previous bout, Diaz lost the much ballyhooed “BMF” title fight against the man now headlining UFC 272, Jorge Masvidal. Nate’s most recent win came in August of 2019, when he defeated former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in a welterweight contest.
