Whilst a long-awaited matchup with Octagon veteran, Nate Diaz continues to allude Dustin Poirier, the former interim UFC lightweight champion predicts he will become just the fourth fighter to finish Diaz – in the form of a fourth round stoppage success.

Dustin Poirier, the current #2 ranked lightweight contender, has been out of action since December of last year where he headlined UFC 269.

Seeing his impressive three-fight winning run stopped, the Louisana native suffered an eventual third round standing rear-naked choke defeat against then-champion, Charles Oliveira in an unsuccessful tilt to land the undisputed division throne. 

In the time since, Poirier has tirelessly campaigned for a series of Octagon returns against Diaz, as well as former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington – and noted his willingness to fight Michael Chandler, however, still to no avail as he remains unbooked.

Dustin Poirier believes he will become just the fourth man to stop Nate Diaz

Almost attempting to will a fight with Diaz into reality at this stage it must be said, Poirier took umbrage with a Twitter user who claimed the Stockton veteran would finish him in less than three rounds – claiming he would himself stop Diaz before the culmination of the fourth frame.

“I stop him (Nate Diaz) in the 4th.,” Dustin Poirier replied to a Twitter user.  

Campaigning for a return at UFC 278 on August 20. in Salt Lake City, Utah – prior to his loss against Oliveira, Poirier had avenged a 2014 knockout loss to former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor a January knockout of his own last year.

And in the pair’s July rubber match trilogy bout at UFC 264, Poirier emerged with a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO victory after McGregor fractured his left tibia at the end of the opening round, resulting in his second straight loss to Poirier.