Hip injury pushes back Dustin Poirier’s planned return

Esther Lin, MMA FightingA persistent hip injury will force former UFC interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier to undergo surgery, pushing back his anticipated timeline for return.

Poirier, 30, initially targeted January for his first fight since a failed bid to unify the lightweight belt. He polled fans for his next opponent after a callout of Conor McGregor fizzled.

Then he found out he needed to go under the knife.

Doctors will repair multiple tears in the labrum of Poirier’s hip. They’ll also reshape his femur bone, he told MMA Fighting on Tuesday; that will ensure it doesn’t create future tears.

All this will keep Poirier out of action until February or March, he announced on Twitter, with…