Why? This is a legitimate use case for a popover. Especially if you're blurring the background while it's open. Why even offer that feature if a user's click can potentially trigger an action on some blurred out button.
*edit:
Apparently, you can combine the two:
> You can turn a element into a popover ( is perfectly valid) if you want to combine popover control with dialog semantics.
Wouldn't make more sense here? They're clearly acknowledging a use case.