Miami, FL — UFC 299 co-headliner Dustin Poirier didn’t exactly clear up the air surrounding his “fight’s off” tweet from just a month ago at Wednesday’s media day.
Lightweight Poirier (29-8, 1NC) stunned the MMA world when he took to Twitter (or X, or whatever Elon Musk chooses to call it next) in February to announce his five-round co-main event fight with Benoit Saint-Denis was off.
The fight had been one of the most intriguing on the card, with the potential for Fight of the Night, or even an all-violence classic, high. Yet as suddenly as Poirier had announced the fight was off, he then revealed it was back on, suggesting there had been a communication issue between the parties involved.
Whatever that issue was, Poirier wasn’t exactly forthcoming on the matter during Wednesday’s UFC 299 media day.
“Just a miscommunication,” Poirier responded to one reporter’s inquiry. “I don’t really want to get into it, but just a miscommunication. We got it all figured out.”
Later, it was brought to Poirier’s attention that fellow UFC star Gilbert Burns had said at the time that “Dustin got paid.”
Asked if there was any financial aspect to the miscommunication, Poirier was initially silent.
After a sizeable pause, the former interim champ replied by saying “it was just a misunderstanding. We don’t need to be watching pockets, you know?”
Dustin Poirier is staying mum (mostly) on the "miscommunication" that led to his "fight's off" tweet ahead of BSD bout at #UFC299 pic.twitter.com/TBZcSZAck9
— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) March 6, 2024
Whatever that miscommunication was, it nearly cancelled one of the most anticipated lightweight fights of the year. Saint-Denis, like Poirier himself, has become known as a violent fighter with a penchant for finishing opponents. Early on during Wednesday’s media day, Poirier even suggest that was a factor in accepting the bout.
There’s another highly anticipated lightweight fight coming up, of course: Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway. That’s a subject Dustin Poirier is well-versed on, as he pointed out to Cageside Press.
“Fought ’em both twice, man. I know we can’t bet, but just judging off the odds, if Max is the dog, you’ve got to go with Max. Because of course he can get it done. That’s another coin toss to me, but I think Max’s length, his rhythm and striking will give Gaethje some problems. And people think Max is small, Max isn’t a small guy.”
Watch the full UFC 299 media day appearance by Dustin Poirier above.
