Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier could soon cross paths with another former interim lightweight champion in the octagon once more, especially if the two continue on their current trajectory.
Poirier (29-7 MMA, 21-6 UFC), who has four wins in his last five fights, including two wins over Conor McGregor and a third round submission win over Michael Chandler in his most recent fight at UFC 281, was called out as a potential opponent by Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje (24-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), who recently secured a majority decision win over up-and-comer Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286.
Gaethje told reporters at the UFC 286 post-fight conference, “I did what I had to do. I fought someone below me, and I 100 percent believe that I deserve to fight someone in front of me.”
He added, “The loser of the Oliveira-Dariush fight [is a possibility as an opponent]. I’d rather not fight Dariush, I love that dude. I do believe he’s going to beat Oliveira. I fought like a complete idiot when I fought Oliveira, so I would love to have that fight back, but Dustin (Poirier) is as good of an option.”
Poirier addressed the callout from Gaethje in a video interview with Fansided MMA on Wednesday.
“It’s a fight that makes me nervous,” Poirier said of his potential rematch with Gaethje. “When I hear a name and I get nervous, it’s motivation. Those are the kind of fights that – same thing with Chandler. When I heard Chandler’s name, when they called me with Michael Chandler, I was nervous, because I knew the danger of those kinds of fights, and that’s what motivates me. Same thing with Justin. If they do call me and he’s the name that they say, maybe it happens. We’ll see.”
What do you think of the comments made by Dustin Poirier on a Justin Gaethje rematch following the former’s callout during the UFC 286 post-fight conference? Would you like to see “Diamond” and “The Highlight” run it back for another match, which would be their first against one another since 2018 (a fight Gaethje lost by TKO in the fourth round)?
