SALT LAKE CITY – Dustin Poirier thinks Justin Gaethje attempting to make Saturday’s UFC 291 headliner a technical fight would be a massive error.
After Poirier (29-7 MMA, 21-6 UFC) earned a fourth-round TKO victory in the first meeting in the 2018 Fight of the Year, Gaethje (24-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has attempted to evolve as a fighter and be more tactical in his approach. It’s led to much success, and he said following that path and avoiding mistakes will be his key to victory when he rematches “The Diamond” for the “BMF” belt at Delta Center. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
If Gaethje wants to go down that path, Poirier thinks he’s in for a repeat result.
“If he wants to technically kickbox with me and grapple with me – I think his best chances are to catch me being crazy and landing a shot,” Poirier told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 291 media day. “If he tries to take his time and be methodical, I’m going to show you levels. For sure.
“He’s kind of got that aura about him now as the chaos and the most violent and all that – but I really am that, and he knows that. So, let’s go there.”
Poirier is one of the UFC’s longest-tenured fighters who has seen and done it all in the sport. He said his main motivation for taking fights at this point is to extend his legacy, and he felt another encounter with Gaethje ticked all the boxes.
“When they called me – because we were talking about doing this fight with Justin potentially being the opponent, those butterflies, that anxiety hit me right away,” Poirier said. “Like ‘We have to do this. This is the one.’ It was five years ago I beat him. He’s done great things, I’ve done great things and we were just on a collision course to do it again. No. 2, No. 3 – No. 1 is fighting the champ. It just makes sense in the division as well.”
Poirier is 3-0 in career rematches ahead of UFC 291, so he likes his chances of getting the job done again. With a win, he could be in position for a third shot at the undisputed lightweight title. The previous opportunities against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira didn’t go his way, and with Oliveira set to challenge Islam Makhachev for the belt at UFC 294 in October, the winner of Saturday’s main event is in a strong position to pounce on a crack at gold.
The stakes aren’t lost on Poirier, but he knows he can’t look past Gaethje.
“I haven’t been told directly that the winner is fighting for the belt, but I assume that,” Poirier said. “I don’t want to look forward that far, because Saturday needs to happen. It’s a crazy thing we do. But the plan is to get my hand raised and then when the smoke clears, we’ll assess the next fight and where the division is at and what happens in Abu Dhabi.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
UFC 291 headliner Dustin Poirier: Justin Gaethje has aura of most violent ‘but I really am that’