Dustin Poirier is treating his UFC 291 bout against Justin Gaethje as a title eliminator.
The winner of this Saturday’s fight, he believes, will be first in line to challenge whomever is victorious in the upcoming Islam Makhachev-Charles Oliveira lightweight title matchup set for this October.
“This is definitely a number-one contender fight,” says Poirier. “Especially if Islam wins again, we’ve both never fought Makhachev, so it’s a new matchup on top of the division for the title. I’m going into this like the winner gets a title shot.”
Poirier (29-7, 1 NC) last competed in November of 2022, defeating Michael Chandler in a hellacious battle at Madison Square Garden. Outside of a submission defeat to Oliveira in December of 2021, Poirier has won four of his last five.
Gaethje (24-4) enters this bout a far more skilled, strategic fighter than when he lost to Poirier by TKO in April of 2018. That was only Gaethje’s third fight in the UFC, and his striking and grappling have improved enormously in the last half-decade.
“Any time Justin is fighting, I’m buying the pay-per-view and watching,” says Poirier. “The chaos he brings in there and how willing he is to engage in combat, I have a lot of respect for that guy. He’s not trying to win rounds, he’s trying to finish you. That’s the kind of fighter I like to watch, and that’s what makes me excited to take this fight again.
“Over the past five years, we’ve both evolved. We had to, otherwise we wouldn’t still be in the top five. We’re both still here five years later, and to do that, we both learned a lot and got a lot better.”
Poirier is prepared for an aggressive, nonstop fight. Despite it being scheduled for five rounds, he remains confident this bout will not go to the judges.
“I don’t think it goes 25 minutes,” says Poirier. “If it does, me and him will chat about it in the hospital, because that’s where we’ll be going.”
High expectations exist for the 291 headliner. The bout is nearly certain to be the Fight of the Night, and it is possible it even ranks among the very best fights of the year. It holds extra stakes with the ceremonial BMF title on the line, an honor that both Poirier and Gaethje are taking seriously.
“If there are critics who don’t like the BMF title, that’s on them,” says Poirier. “This is a legacy fight. I don’t know how many more times this belt is going to be contested, and this is only the second time it’s being competed for, so it means something to me. It would look good at my home and it will be another part of my history.”
After fight week finishes, Poirier’s schedule will not slow down. His charity, the Good Fight Foundation, has its annual Back to Drive event in Lafayette, Louisiana just five days after the fight.
“I’m thankful for my wife and family members and all the volunteers who are making this happen,” says Poirier. “I’m usually hands-on packing the backpacks, but I’m in camp, so it was all accomplished by people sweating in my gym back home, which doesn’t have AC, packing backpacks and binders and all the school supplies for the kids. I’ll be there next week, and I can’t wait to be part of it, but it wouldn’t have happened without all the people who put in a lot of work.”
A victory this Saturday for Poirier puts him right back in title contention. At 34, he may not have many more opportunities to be this close to the title again.
Beating Gaethje a second time will be an extraordinarily tough task, but one that is necessary for Poirier to get another shot at the belt.
“This is going to be the epitome of mixed martial arts at the highest level,” says Poirier. “This is two finishers putting it all on the line. Me, as a fight fan and fighter, I’m excited for it.”
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
