Justin Gaethje closes the door on trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier doesn’t appear to be retiring just yet. Poirier and Gaethje share a 1-1 head-to-head record in the UFC. While Poirier retired last year, Gaethje recently won the interim lightweight title against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 last month. Gaethje’s violent performance against Pimblett was enticing enough for Poirier to consider retiring. “The Diamond” said he would be interested in returning for a trilogy match against Gaethje.

Gaethje initially said he respects Poirier too much to deny him a rubber match. However, Gaethje had said that he was mainly looking forward and not back.

Meanwhile, lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, who was on a short break, said he is ready to return this summer. Gaethje has now completely shut down the idea of ​​a trilogy fight against Poirier. “The Highlight” isn’t tempted by the idea of ​​a trilogy against Poirier, when he will likely fight Topuria in a title unifier. However, Gaethje would reconsider if he was offered a match against Conor McGregor at the White House in June.

Aimed at UFC gold

“No, no. We’re 1-1. I’m fighting for the championship next,” Gaethje told Stephen A. Smith. “I mean, that’s the biggest fight in the world. For me, for this division, that’s the biggest fight any of us can ever have. I’m fighting for an undisputed gold championship belt. So there’s nothing else that entertains me. If they came to me and said, ‘Do you want to fight McGregor at the White House instead?’ I would think about it.”Gaethje (27-5) was fairly new to the UFC when he suffered a stoppage loss to Poirier (30-10) in their first match in 2018. Gaethje avenged the loss by sending Poirier to the shadows with a head kick in their 2023 rematch. Poirier went 1-2 after his loss to Gaethje and called it a career after a loss to Max Holloway last July.