Dustin Poirier's resentment of Colby Covington is so intense that he claims the only way they fight would be in the street, with both ending up in prison. 

'Diamond' and Covington have been publicly feuding for years after 'Chaos' burned his bridges with American Top Team, the gym he unceremoniously left. 

That is also where his relationship with Jorge Masvidal, his former best friend, started to deteriorate and now they are preparing to lock horns in the octagon at UFC 272. 

Poirier has recently spoken about the possibility of moving up from lightweight to welterweight but says he will never fight Covington. 

He explained: 'I would never fight Colby in an Octagon where there’s finances on the line. If I fight Colby, we’re both going to jail. I’m going to jail.

'I’m not gonna fight him in the Octagon. He’s not making money off of my career and what I’ve done. 

'This is something different. You will never see me fight Colby Covington in the UFC.'

Unsurprisingly, Poirier will be supporting Masvidal at UFC 272. He added: 'Jorge is just a good dude. I want to see him succeed. 

'I know he’s working hard, I know Bo Nickal’s down there at American Top Team and we have a lot of good wrestlers there so he’s preparing his wrestling game.

'His fight IQ and skill is gonna speak for itself, I believe in this fight, but it is fighting. I’m rooting for Jorge.'

Poirier suffered a rear-naked choke defeat in his second title shot last year, submitting to Charles Oliveira. 

He is awaiting his next opponent and Nate Diaz is thought to be the most likley option, though nothing has been officially announced.