Former lightweight title challenger Justin Gaethje believes a late 2023 bout with Dustin Poirier is a title eliminator.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Gaethje spoke about his desire to fight Poirier later this year. He believes the winner will eventually get a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
“I think that’s the obvious answer,” Gaethje said. “He’s No. 2, he has no dance partner, and the same with me. I think that fight is certainly a title contention fight. The winner of [Charles] Oliveira and [Beneil] Dariush fight, obviously [they] are going to fight for the title in October, so I need to fight Dustin in August, September, or October to put me on that perfect timeline.”
“The Highlight” is known as one of the most exciting fighters in UFC history, with wins over Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone, to name a select few.
Justin Gaethje Wants to Be Undisputed UFC Champion
Gaethje (24-4) last fought in March at UFC 286, where he defeated Rafael Fiziev by majority decision.
The 34-year-old, former interim lightweight champion has unsuccessfully challenged for the undisputed 155-pound title twice to Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov, respectively.
Now, he wants another opportunity to claim UFC gold with a potential win over Poirier, the No. 2 ranked lightweight.
“You can’t force anybody to fight. I’m not saying he doesn’t want to fight me, but he probably doesn’t need to ever fight again with how much money he’s made,” Gaethje said. “So I don’t know. I think he’ll take it. Some people around me think he won’t take it. All I can do is focus on myself in that regard.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Gaethje lost to Poirier by TKO in April 2018. The two top-ranked lightweights, who have both expressed interest in a rematch, could be on pace to fighting again later this year.