Dustin Poirier originally had Justin Gaethje defeating Tony Ferguson.
When Ferguson vs. Gaethje was announced for the interim lightweight title at UFC 249, “The Diamond” predicted a win for the latter. Though the event was eventually postponed, UFC president Dana White plans on having them compete on May 9 in what currently looks to be a stacked card.
Poirier — who defeated Gaethje in a back-and-forth war back in 2018 — still seems to be picking “The Highlight” to win if that fight goes ahead. However, given the circumstances such as Gaethje fighting on short notice amid a global pandemic, it’s hard for him to predict things for certain.
“This is MMA. Anything can happen on any given night,” Poirier told MMA Fighting. “But stylistically, I saw it matching up — the only thing that was in the back of my mind that I thought would work against my prediction was Justin’s cardio. I didn’t know how hard he was pushing before he got the call. I don’t know what kind of shape he was in.
“The endurance could have came into factor if it went past third, fourth or fifth round. Then I think Tony could have started pulling away. But in my head, I had Justin stopping him early.”
If things did go into deep waters, most would favor Ferguson. However, Gaethje’s power is certainly a threat early on which is why taking a fight with him is such a big risk for Ferguson — especially when he can just wait to face Khabib Nurmagomedov later in the year.
But for Poirier, it could come down to a number of different factors.
“It’s tough for me to call that cause I’m not in his shoes,” Poirier added when asked why Ferguson would take the fight. “I don’t know what he’s thinking, how he’s feeling. A lot of things play into that decision making. It’s tough to say.”
Ferguson last competed in June 2019 when he defeated Donald Cerrone.
What do you make of Poirier’s comments?