Dustin Poirier is willing to run things back with Justin Gaethje.
Gaethje is currently on a four-fight winning streak and is set to take on lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year. Poirier — whose last outing was a submission loss to Nurmagomedov — is set to return to action this weekend when he meets Dan Hooker in the UFC Vegas 4 headliner.
If Poirier returns to the win column and Gaethje becomes the new undisputed champion, there is a possibility they could face each other next. Poirier already holds a win over Gaethje after knocking him out in their 2018 meeting and a highly-anticipated rematch would have even more stakes with the lightweight title on the line.
But even with no title on the line, Poirier is open to what he believes would be another “Fight of the Year” bout with the current interim champion.
“I’m always open to it,” Poirier told MMA Junkie. “It was ‘Fight of the Year,’ I thought, and I’m sure it would be again.
“I love watching him fight and, like I always say, anybody I’m a fan of watching fight, I would love to fight them because I know we’ll put some craziness on in there.”
Poirier Assesses Gaethje’s Chances Against Nurmagomedov
Many observers believe Gaethje has a better chance than most to inflict defeat on “The Eagle” given his wrestling pedigree.
Poirier is one of the few to have faced both Gaethje and Nurmagomedov. So what does “The Diamond” think of the matchup and Gaethje’s chances?
“It just depends how it unfolds and how Justin’s footwork is,” Poirier said. “If he can stay off the fence, I think he’s gonna give Khabib a lot of problems. Khabib’s gonna have a tough time taking him down in the open. But against the fence, I’m not sure.
“If Khabib gets him up (against) the fence and starts getting in on his legs, he might give Gaethje some trouble there and get him down and it’s gonna be hard to get back up. I know first hand.”
Do you agree with Poirier?