Justin Gaethje shut down talk of a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier after UFC 313.
Dustin Poirier stopped ‘The Highlight’ with strikes in the fourth round of their bloody first battle seven years ago – but Justin Gaethje got his revenge when he slept ‘The Diamond’ with a head kick at UFC 291 in July 2023.
The Louisiana native is currently looking for a legend to face in what is being billed as his final MMA fight.
Gaethje seems like a perfect opponent, but after beating Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313, the always-entertaining lightweight contender ruled out a third fight with Poirier.
Justin Gaethje rules out Dustin Poirier trilogy
Gaethje has been clear about his desire to fight Islam Makhachev for lightweight gold next.
However, that matchup may not come off as Ilia Topuria is waiting in the wings for a 155lb title shot.
If the former featherweight king is named as Makhachev’s next opponent, Gaethje will have to face somebody else, as waiting for a title shot is not an option right now.
There is a bunch of fun fights for him at lightweight, but he’s totally ruled out one potential opponent.
“I don’t think either one of our families deserve that,” Gaethje said when asked about being Poirier’s retirement opponent during the UFC 313 post-fight press conference.
“We’re 1-1 and I’m okay with it. If he’s okay with it, then no.
“I think we’re contenders, if we beat other people.
“If I beat him, I don’t think either one of us would be considered a contender.”
What’s next for Justin Gaethje?
Gaethje refused to issue a proper call out to Makhachev after getting back in the win column.
The 36-year-old did incredibly well to bounce back from being badly knocked out by Max Holloway at UFC 300 in April 2024.
However, he seems unsure if a win over Fiziev is enough to put him back in the lightweight title mix.
“I don’t know (what I want next), we’ll see,” Gaethje added.
“I mean, I wanna fight for the belt, obviously, it’s a much different matchup than I just had,
“They tried to give me a donut but I need to get back to running if I’m gonna fight Makhachev.”
Dana White believes Gaethje’s got a great chance of being Makhachev’s next opponent.
“I mean, what’s he ranked right now? Fourth or something, right? Third,” the UFC boss said.
“There you go, he’s still the number three ranked guy in the world, so the odds of him getting the title shot are pretty good.”