Filed under: Blue Corner, News, UFC

Dustin Poirier’s quest to capture UFC gold is still ongoing, but today his more-than-a-decade-long pursuit for another belt came to a conclusion.

Poirier (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) revealed that more than 11 years after venturing into grappling, he was awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from longtime coach and former UFC fighter Tim Credeur.

“The Diamond” revealed the news on social media (via Twitter):

Poirier, No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, is coming off a third-round finish of Anthony Pettis at UFC Fight Night 120 in November. He’s lost just one of eight fights since returning to the 155-pound division in April 2015.

For his next fight, Poirier is gunning for a rematch with former UFC and Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez (29-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC), whom he fought to a no-contest at UFC 211 in May when an illegal knee prematurely ended the bout.

“He’s the only guy in the top three, four that’s available now,” Poirier said during a fan Q&A prior to UFC on FOX 26 earlier this month (watch it above). “Everyone is tied up or waiting on Conor McGregor to come back. I’m trying to get a shot at gold. The only way to do that is to beat the top guys – and because I owe him an ass-whooping, let’s be honest.

“I think him and his team know it’s a bad matchup for him. Really, that’s it,”

For more on the UFC’s schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.

Filed under: Blue Corner, News, UFC