Islam Makhachev’s next title defense against Dustin Poirier is edging closer to being booked for June, and former double champion Henry Cejudo believes Poirier is the ‘easier’ fight than the other top contenders.
The lightweight title picture hit a stalemate when several of the top contenders were booked to fight each other at UFC 300 on April 13th.
155lb champion, Islam Makhachev, made it clear that he wanted to defend his title in June, after he was offered a welterweight title fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 300, but turned down the offer due to it clashing with Ramadan.
Dustin Poirier a beneficiary of the right place at the right time
The timing works perfectly for Dustin Poirier, who picked up a come-from-behind win against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 just a month ago, making him the only available contender who isn’t booked.
Other notable deserving contenders, Charles Oliveira, Arman Tsarukyan, and Justin Gaethje are all booked to fight at UFC 300, meaning the turnaround to June would be too soon for them.
The two lightweights have since gone back and forth on social media, with Poirier posting earlier this week, “Looks like it’s back to work.”.
The promotion announced that they are returning to Newark, New Jersey for UFC 302, which will take place on June 1st, with this fight being a contender to headline that event.
With that event being just over two months away, the tickets will need to go on sale at a certain date, with the main event having been announced to drive sales.
With Makhachev fighting in June being almost inevitable, the promotion has to go with the contender that makes the most sense at the time, and with the majority of other top lightweights being booked, Poirier makes the most sense.
Henry Cejudo believes Dustin Poirier is the ‘easier’ fight for Makhachev
Talking on his YouTube channel, Henry Cejudo explained how Islam Makhachev has ‘played the game right’, with Dustin Poirier being the only available option and being an ‘easier’ matchup than other 155lbers.
“Islam Makhachev played the game right because now he’s going to fight in June and now he gets an easier opponent. I’m not saying a guy like Poirier is easy, but a style that favors Islam Makhachev very well, his name is Dustin Poirier.” Cejudo explained.
The first time the 35-year-old challenged for the title was against Makhachev’s mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Poirier came up short in that fight as he was submitted in round three.
Cejudo questioned what changes the Louisianan could make against someone who is mentored by someone Poirier has already lost to. The former double champion suggested that Poirier should think about adding some new people to his camp, to prepare for the task ahead.
“The loophole for a guy like Dustin Poirier is how do you fight a guy who’s super basic, how do you fight a guy who’s best friend, whose brother has fought you and how do you make that fight a little bit different?
“My biggest thing with Dustin Poirier is what are you going to do differently in this fight, to where you don’t make that mistake again and you’re able to fight a guy like Islam Makhachev completely different. You may want to think about adding new people to your camp.” Cejudo said.
Although Islam Makhachev’s next title defense is yet to be officially confirmed, all roads are pointing towards UFC 302 against Dustin Poirier.