After his third-round TKO win over Anthony Pettis last November, Dustin Poirier immediately campaigned for a rematch with Eddie Alvarez. “The Diamond” will indeed be fighting soon, but against a different opponent.
According to a report by MMAjunkie, the UFC is currently working on a matchup between Poirier and fellow 155-pound top contender Justin Gaethje. While no definite date has been set, the fight is being targeted to take place either at UFC 222 on March 3rd or sometime in April.
As of this posting, the only event scheduled for April is UFC 223 in Brooklyn on April 7th, which will feature the overdue lightweight scrap between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Poirier (22-5, with 17 wins by stoppage) was hoping to settle the score between him and Alvarez, whom he fought to a no contest at UFC 211 in May. He has also made things more personal after finding out that the former champion called him a quitter during their first fight.
Gaethje (18-1, with 16 wins by stoppage), on the other hand, was handed his first career defeat by Alvarez via third-round TKO, when they fought at UFC 218 last December. He was, however, nonetheless satisfied for having lost by stoppage instead of by decision.