Justin Gaethje (photo via UFC / YouTube)

By Kelsey Mowatt

It remains to be seen if Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier will fight again. But, it’s clear Gaethje believes a rematch with Poirier makes a lot of sense.

Ever since Gaethje outstruck rising lightweight contender, Rafael Fiziev, last month, there’s been extensive speculation about who the former interim champ will battle next. Due to the current state of the UFC’s lightweight rankings, and because Poirier and Gaethje went to war back in 2018, talk of a rematch has been frequent.

So, while talking with MMA Fighting recently, Gaethje acknowledged that facing Poirier for a second time, seems like the right move to make.

“I think that’s the obvious answer,” Gaethje said. “He’s No. 2, he has no dance partner, and the same with me. I think that fight is certainly a title contention fight. The winner of [Charles] Oliveira and [Beneil] Dariush fight, obviously [they] are going to fight for the title in October, so I need to fight Dustin in August, September, or October to put me on that perfect timeline.

“You can’t force anybody to fight. I’m not saying he doesn’t want to fight me, but he probably doesn’t need to ever fight again with how much money he’s made. So I don’t know. I think he’ll take it. Some people around me think he won’t take it. All I can do is focus on myself in that regard.”

In their 2018 encounter, Poirier (29-7) won the thrilling fight by stopping Gaethje (24-4) in the second round. More recently, Poirier submitted Michael Chandler in November, after being tapped out by Charles Oliveira in December, 2021.

While Gaethje understands that both he and Poirier are different fighters than they were back in 2018, he believes he’s taken his game to a whole other level.

“I would say [the differences are] night and day. I used to be very emotional. I used to think I needed to build up this anger to be the person I needed to be. And through all the experience and all these fights, I’ve understood that it’s just who I am. My athletic ability, my intuitive ability to operate in the chaos and control the chaos, I think is something I’ve really been able to hone into and understand that it’s something that allows me to be the fighter that I need to be.

“I think we’re both different fighters [from 2018]. Obviously, that was five years ago. So yeah, it’s a different ballgame, but a fight’s a fight. At the end of the day, I think he’s got phenomenal skills, he’s a hell of a matchup for me, and nothing short of Fight of the Century again.”

As it stands right now, currently Gaethje is ranked #3 in the UFC’s lightweight rankings and Poirier is #2. Oliveira, who also holds a submission win over Gaethje, is ranked #1.