Dustin Poirier, aka ‘The Diamond’, faced a crushing defeat at the hands of Justin Gaethje, only to make a thumping comeback against Benoit Saint Davis in his very next outing. As it turns out, his KO win against the French hard hitter has compelled Daniel Cormier to believe that Justin Gaethje is also headed for a major comeback after his KO loss as it was probably nothing but a bump in the road for ‘The Highlight.’
Speaking to his co-host Chael Sonnen on the Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast, Cormier reflected on Gaethje’s situation. Despite being knocked out by Max Holloway, DC believes that Gaethje is just “One great win” away from a title fight. He said,
“I believe that Justin Gaethje is in the same situation, Justin Gaethje is one win away from ultimately standing across the octagon from the champion because he is that popular, he has been that important and all of the things that he has accomplished since he got to the UFC.”
Comparing this to Poirier’s situation, Cormier argued that the fellow Louisiana native was in the same spot after his loss to Gaethje but that did not stop him from pushing for a title shot. Poirier proved to the whole world that he still had some fight left in him when he went toe to toe with BSD to knock him out.
Interestingly, DC even highlighted Poirier’s psyche, exclaiming that ‘The Diamond’ is always in the championship conversation provided he gets a single stellar victory. The knockout victory over Benoit Saint Davis eventually gave Poirier the upcoming title bout against the champion, and Cormier believes that the Gaethje is also just a win away from a possible title fight.
Now with Poirier preparing for his title fight against the LW king Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 in June, fighters have come out to give their takes on the matchup. Former champion Charles Oliveira believes that Makhachev will reign victorious in the 5 rounder, even though he has talked about the sport’s “unpredictability.”
Charles Oliveira drops in his prediction for UFC 302, favoring Makhachev over Poirier
Although Charles Oliveira was on his way to a title shot, his plans were derailed when he faced a split decision loss against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300. At the same time, Poirier’s stellar performance against BSD got his stocks high, prompting the organization to pick him as Makhachev’s opponent.
Despite Poirier displaying his boxing prowess against the French phenom, Oliveira thinks that the Dagestani’s wrestling game would be too much for ‘The Diamond.’ When speaking to Full Violence about the fight, Oliveira addressed this issue, and said,
“I think the fight is more on Islam’s side of taking him down, smothering him. But, we’re talking about Dustin Poirier, a guy who’s also enlightened. A guy who punches hard, right? So, we’re talking about MMA, it’s complicated. But, I think Islam will stay champion.”
The upcoming fight at Prudential Center, New Jersey will be Poirier’s 31st fight in the promotion. Considering his vulnerability against the superior grappling of Khabib Nurmagomedov and his protege, Poirier might have to rely on his boxing skills while keeping a distance and trying to outstrike the champ.
