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Justin Gaethje says he has ‘tons of respect’ for Dustin Poirier and everything he has done in the Octagon, including his back-to-back wins against Conor McGregor. The ‘Highlight’ and Poirier are on a collision course (again), rematching at UFC 291, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for July 29 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Poirier and Gaethje delivered an instant classic in their first fight at UFC on FOX 29, where the ‘Diamond’ handed Gaethje his second consecutive UFC loss with a fourth-round finish. The pair went on to amass the exact same record in their next eight Octagon appearances, going 6-2, with their only losses coming to former champions Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira.
Justin Gaethje loved Dustin Poirier‘s wins against Conor McGregor
In his recent run, Poirier has added wins against Eddie Alvarez, Max Holloway and Dan Hooker to his résumé. Though those names are impressive, Gaethje said the wins that he loved the most were against McGregor. The Lafayette native finished the former two-division UFC champion at UFC 257 and UFC 264, respectively.
“Tons of respect for the dude,” said Gaethje on DC & RC recently. “He’s a dog, and what he’s done to [Conor] McGregor the last couple fights was super impressive. I always love to see that dude get broken.
“So this guy’s a dog and I know I’m going to have to be perfect,” continued Gaethje. “I know that there’s no need for animosity. We’re two of the best, most violent athletes in the sport. We both love what we do. We both love the carnage and we’re both content with what we’re about to put ourselves through. It’s all preparation. He’s super confident. I’m super confident coming off this last win. And again, this card is stacked. It’s going to be an electric night.”
One more title run for Justin Gaethje?
Aside from vying for the newly revived ‘Baddest Motherf—ker’ title, Gaethje is also vying for another potential championship opportunity. After his most recent win against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 this past March, the ‘Highlight’ shared he had ‘one more title run’ in him, which he hoped to start with this second fight against Poirier.
Should he get through the ‘Diamond,’ Gaethje said he hopes to challenge the reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev next. The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product has yet to schedule his next defense after his unanimous decision win against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 this past February.
“These rankings are for a reason,” said Gaethje. “They might not be as legit as we think they are, but he’s No. 2, I’m No. 3. No. 1 is fighting No. 4, and the champion needs someone to fight. I think if [Beneil] Dariush wins [against Charles Oliveira at UFC 289], he’s going to fight [Makhachev] in October, and the winner of that fight will fight the winner of this fight. If Oliveira loses, I think one of us is going to be right back into camp.”
Who else is fighting at UFC 291?
UFC 291 also features a slew of intriguing fights. Since his loss to reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira moves up to light heavyweight for a fight against Jan Blachowicz. Tony Ferguson returns, facing off with fellow UFC veteran Bobby Green. And Paulo Costa attempts to stave off an up-and-coming name in Ikram Aliskerov, who is coming off a first-round KO of Phil Hawes.
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