Dustin Poirier suggests he fight Nate Diaz for UFC 165-pound title

UFC 230 still needs a main event, and Dustin Poirier has a solution.

The UFC lightweight contender is scheduled to meet the returning Nate Diaz on the November pay-per-view card — likely in the co-main event. But Poirier now wants to fight Diaz with an inaugural 165-pound title up for grabs, increasing the stakes that much more. It’s a long shot, of course, but that would seemingly make it a more attractive headliner in the eyes of the UFC brass.

“What about me and Nate for the 165lbs belt?” Poirier tweeted Thursday night, a day after UFC president Dana White said there was no way former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones would return at UFC 230.

UFC 230 tickets go on sale next week, and White said Thursday at the UFC 229 press conference in New York City that a main event would be confirmed by then.

Most fans would be more than happy to see five rounds of Poirier vs. Diaz instead of just three, but attaching a new UFC belt to the fight doesn’t seem very likely to happen. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) passed the 165-pound division last year in its 10-point plan, but White has said he is against the potential weight class and that it will not be used in the UFC.

UFC 230 takes place Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.