Poirier welcomes Gaethje rematch
Poirier vs. Gaethje 2, anyone?
Dustin Poirier is interested in a potential rematch with Justin Gaethje.
In the co-headliner of UFC 286 this past Saturday, Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev by majority decision in a ‘Fight of the Night’ awarded appearance. During his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier, the ‘Highlight’ said he would have ‘one more run at the title’, which Islam Makhachev now holds.
For Gaethje, that run would include a pair of rematches against Charles Oliveira and the aforementioned Poirier, who he suffered a fourth-round TKO loss to at UFC on FOX 29 nearly five years ago. Though ‘Do Bronx’ has yet to respond, the ‘Diamond’ did — and he would gladly share the Octagon with Gaethje again.
“It’s a fight that makes me nervous,” said Poirier in a recent interview with Amy Kaplan of FanSided MMA. “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,” continued Poirier. “If they do call me and he’s the name that they say, maybe it happens. We’ll see.”
As mentioned, Poirier is awaiting a call from the UFC on his next appearance. The Louisiana native has yet to return following his third-round rear-naked choke of Michael Chandler at UFC 281 this past November.
Since then, the UFC lightweight division has had some significant movement. Fights between Charles Oliveira & Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan & Renato Moicano are already on the books. Hoping to jump into the fray, Poirier is aiming for a return soon.
“I’m happy, but I only fought once this year, and I don’t want that to happen again this year,” said Poirier. “But at the same time, my life is different now. My daughter is in first grade, so a summer fight would be ideal. That way I could bring my family with me for the bulk of training camp. For this last fight with Chandler, we had to split it up. I can’t take my daughter out of school for eight, nine weeks, so that makes it a little bit more difficult. But summer would be good.”
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)