Diamond looking to make cut

DUSTIN POIRIER wants to use Justin Gaethje as a stepping stone to the world title.

The pair meet in the main event of UFC on Fox 29 in Glendale, Arizona, in the early hours of Sunday.

And ‘The Diamond’ sees the fight as a great opportunity to get himself into the lightweight title mix.

Poirier, ranked No.5, said: “I definitely want to become world champion. That’s what I’m in this business for.

“Being in exciting fights and being a household name, or people getting excited to watch when I’m fighting, is not my goal.

“My goal is to be world champion and the other things are just by-products of that.”

Poirier (22-5 MMA, 14-1 UFC) goes into the fight on the back of a third-round KO of former champion Anthony Pettis in November.

Gaethje (18-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered a third-round KO at the hands of Eddie Alvarez in December.

Poirier said: “I don’t know how he is going to react after that loss to Alvarez.

“Before that fight he was knocking everybody out and making everybody quit and beating everybody up.

“He was going in and brawling and being crazy and taking big risks and leaving it all out there. Now we will have to see what happens.

“We do know he has great wrestling and after his first loss he could be changing his mind about his fighting style. But I’m prepared for anything.

“I believe he is one of the most mentally tough guys around. He’s a warrior and a gladiator but I am the superior skilled fighter in this bout – and I will show that on the night.”