Henry Cejudo doesn’t think Dustin Poirier belongs in the UFC’s pound-for-pound standings.
Ex-UFC interim lightweight champion Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) currently is ranked No. 8 on the list. He is coming off a submission loss in a title fight against Charles Oliveira in December 2021 at UFC 269, but prior to that, scored back-to-back stoppage wins over former UFC dual-champ Conor McGregor.
In his past 11 fights, Poirier’s only two losses have come in title fights against Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov. But despite his impressive record, Cejudo thinks Poirier getting finished in those fights doesn’t warrant him a spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
“Chandler doesn’t have a gold. Neither does Poirier,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t know why Poirier is pound-for-pound. I really don’t. If I was a champion and I had a belt, with all due respect to Poirier, there is no way you can put guys that have been knocked out and submitted and all that on the pound-for-pound list.”
Poirier will look to get back to the win column when he faces Michael Chandler at UFC 281 on Nov. 12. “The Diamond” never has lost two straight fights in his entire professional MMA career. According to Tipico Sportsbook, he is a -175 favorite against Chandler.
UFC 281 takes place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
