Dustin Poirier reflects at winning the Interim Lightweight championship. Criticizes Justin Gaethje for throwing the very belt on the ground.
Ever since he won the Interim Lightweight Title in May, 2020, Justin Gaethje was vocal about how the belt doesn’t carry the same worth as the one held by the undisputed champion. He maintained this stance about the coveted piece of gold even during the run-up of UFC 254, and at the pre-event press conference he even removed the strap from his shoulder, saying that he wants the real one.
While Gaethje was reluctant to don the Interim Belt, Dustin Poirier, who held the same title for almost 5 months, has recently expressed how proud he was on becoming the Interim champion.
Also read: Dustin Poirier Confirms The Weight Class Of The Potential Fight With Conor McGregor
Dustin Poirier On Why The Interim Lightweight Title Was a Prized Possession For Him
On Friday, Dustin Poirier made his appearance in the Anik & Florian podcast, and conveyed why winning the UFC gold in 2019, is the highlight of his career.
“I knew that I had a piece of the world title.” Dustin said, “I am not an idiot, I know I wasn’t the undisputed world champion, but I was in a place of gratitude because of the years of work that I put in and put myself in position to beat a current world champion at the time to win an Interim belt Max Holloway was a world champion and I earned that Interim belt through years 24, 25 fights with this company going back to the WEC days.
“I knew I wasn’t the undisputed world champion but I had a piece and I was very proud of that. So, for Gaethje to say that I thought I made it and I was holding a fake belt and him pushing that belt away in all those interviews. Those last few months of him throwing that belt on the ground. This is a life lesson, this isn’t about fighting. You got to understand and appreciate the position you put yourself in and be grateful for everything you have. All these months of Gaethje walking around and throwing that belt could have been months of him, embracing the position, embracing the role that he put himself in. Not trying to be a meat head and throwing the belt on the ground, not trying to say a cool s**t.”
Justin Gaethje failed to unify the Interim belt with the Lightweight gold, at UFC 254, against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
War Of Words Before UFC 254
Just a few days before UFC 254, both Gaethje and Poirier did indulged in a short quarrel on social media, over the status of the Interim championship. However, the back-and-forth did not heaped into a huge argument, but speaking on the podcast, he reflected on the same and said, Gaethje should have showed more respect to the second biggest prize of the division.
“All those months of him holding an Interim champion could have been great months, if he wouldn’t have been throwing that belt on the ground.”
While Dustin enjoyed a good spell being the Interim world champion and advocates the glory associated with the title, there’s no denying that he would like to go one better this time and become the undisputed champion himself, and looking at the current scenario of the Lightweight division, the opportunity may soon present itself.
Click Here For More UFC News
