Justin Gaethje continues to push for a second fight against Dustin Poirier, and he believes it has the potential to be another legendary scrap.
Justin Gaethje is looking for another fight following his gutsy win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286, and he’s hoping lightweight rival Dustin Poirier will be his next opponent.
Gaethje sits near the top of the UFC 155-pound rankings at No. 3, right below the No. 2 Poirier. In his mind, a scrap between the two exciting contenders makes all the sense in the world.
“I think that’s the obvious answer,” Gaethje said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “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 Oliveira and Dariush fight, obviously 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.”
There are some reasons why Dustin Poirier may not be as eager to step into the cage against “The Highlight.” Poirier holds a knockout win over Gaethje from 2018, so he may not be interested in a rematch. Especially given how violent Gaethje fights can be.
“You can’t force anybody to fight,” Gaethje said. “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. 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.”
“The only thing is, obviously anyone that steps in there [with me] comes out with a lot of damage,” he said. “So you ask yourself, do you want to take that risk? ‘Do I need to take that risk?’ I can’t be sure that the answer’s yes, but I hope so.”
“I think we’re both different fighters [from 2018]. Obviously, that was five years ago. So yeah, it’s a different ballgame, but a fight’s a fight. At the end of the day, I think he’s got phenomenal skills, he’s a hell of a matchup for me, and nothing short of ‘Fight of the Century’ again.”
Poirier hasn’t fought since a third-round submission win over Michael Chandler at UFC 281 in November 2022. He certainly seems down for the scrap on social media. He retweeted one of Gaethje’s overtures for the fight on Twitter, and echoed Justin’s words in another tweet, simply writing “Fight of the century.”
Fight of the century.
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) April 4, 2023
He also may feel like he’s got something to prove. “The Diamond” responded to Gaethje’s claim of being the most exciting fighter of all time.
“F— all that, man. F- the shortlist, I am the guy!” he said in an appearance with MMA on SiriusXM. “Before Justin Gaethje was fighting in MMA I was putting on Fight of the Years. Yeah, dude, I was headlining events in 2012 putting on Fight of the Years, I don’t even know if Gaethje was fighting then. You know what I mean? I’ve been doing this.”
Surprisingly enough, some bookies have Justin Gaethje as a slight -125 favorite over underdog Dustin Poirier at +105. Just more fuel for the fire? Poirier will be in Miami as an analyst for UFC 287. Hopefully he’ll leave Florida with a fight offer from the UFC.