Poirier is considered one of the best lightweights ever, even though he never won an undisputed title. He announced his retirement last summer after a narrow defeat to Max Holloway. Initially, he seemed pretty determined to stick to his retirement plans, but UFC 324 seems to have gotten him thinking about a comeback.
The card went out last Saturday in Las Vegas. In the main event, Justin Gaethje defeated Paddy Pimblett to win the interim lightweight title.
Poirier knows Gaethje well. The two lightweight legends have fought twice before. Poirier won their first meeting via TKO, and Gaethje evened the score with a head-kick KO in their rematch years later. That, of course, left their rivalry tied at 1-1. Poirier’s retirement suggested the rivalry would end there, but it appears a tiebreaker is possible.
Dustin Poirier teases UFC comeback for Justin Gaethje rematch
Shortly after UFC 324 concluded, former UFC lightweight contender Josh Thomson shared his interest in seeing Poirier and Gaethje running backs. Poirier won Thomson’s Instagram post and surprisingly admitted that he would return to the competition to complete the trilogy with Gaethje.
“I’ll be back for that,” Poirier said.
Whether Poirier returns or not, his legacy is set in stone. Like Gaethje, he is a former interim champion. He fought the Undisputed three times, losing via submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira and most recently Islam Makhachev. Despite this, he has scored victories over many top lightweights. Highlights of his resume include victories over Gaethje, Conor McGregor (twice), Max Holloway (twice), Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller.
Would you like to see Poirier and Gaethje fight for a third time?
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