Dustin Poirier Down for Trilogy Fight with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300: ‘I Would Take That’
Dustin Poirier is open to a trilogy bout with Justin Gaethje at the promotion’s next big milestone event, UFC 300.
The Diamond’ has shared the Octagon with Gaethje on two separate occasions, each producing the fireworks fans have come to expect from two of the most exciting competitors in lightweight history. Their first meeting in April 2018 earned Fight of the Year honors and saw Poirier walk away with his third straight win in the division.
Five years later, the pair of future UFC Hall of Famers would run it back at UFC 291. This time, Justin Gaethje saw his hand raised following a highlight-reel-worthy second-round head kick KO. With the series even, fight fans immediately began clamoring for a trilogy fight between the two 155 icons.
Perhaps we won’t have to wait quite as long for the trilogy bout as we did for the rematch.
“I’m keeping my weight low in case something happens,” Poirier told MMA Junkie. “I’m super low right now. I’ve been like that for the last month. I don’t have any plans. If they call me with a name that’s exciting or makes sense, like the Gaethje thing, then that was one of those. I was kind of waiting for something fun. When they called me with that one, I was nervous.
“What happened I thought could happen, so that made me excited. We’ll see. When they call with that name then I’ll do it. I made my debut at UFC 125, January 1, 2011. I’m not going to be here at UFC 400. I’m 34 years old. So, to make it on that UFC 300 card would be cool if I get the right opponent, an exciting fight. I could fight before then. Who knows?”
“I would take that, for sure [Gaethje trilogy],” Poirier said. “For sure, I would take that fight. (UFC) 300 would be a great card to do it on, but we will see. If I was in Justin’s shoes, if he’s guaranteed a title shot, you might not want to risk it. But, hey, this is fighting. People get antsy. We’ll see what happens, but I’m definitely open to that.”
With Gaethje’s win over Poirier, ‘The Highlight’ is all, but guaranteed a lightweight title opportunity, though he could be waiting for quite a while as the UFC is prioritizing a rematch between reigning champion Islam Makhachev and former titleholder Charles Oliveira.
Gaethje could be motivated to take a fight in the interim, but that means putting his spot in line at risk.
