Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping gave his take on the recent comments of Justin Gaethje.
Gaethje recently made headlines when he stated his opinion that Dustin Poirier would rather retire than face him in a rematch should he become the new lightweight champion next month.
Poirier defeated Gaethje with a fourth-round TKO win back in 2018 but notably suffered plenty of damage along the way, especially to his leg.
“The Diamond” would since respond.
“Nah, man – I’m a fighter,” he said when asked if he would ride off into the sunset should he become champion. “I’m fortunate enough now, with this year that I’ve had, I could walk away. It’s a great position to be in, but these guys need ass-whoopings, and I’m the guy to give it to them. And we can’t walk away like that.”
In reality, it’s highly unlikely Poirier would retire.
Not only is he in his prime right now, but he’s also finally making life-changing money from his two wins over Conor McGregor this year. So what does Bisping think of Gaethje’s theory?
“Justin Gaethje has come out here and said that he doesn’t think Dustin’s gonna want to fight him again…wow, that’s a big statement from Justin Gaethje,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “And Justin’s normally a pretty respectful guy…
“I disagree with that. I think Dustin will be the champ and I think he’ll take on whoever it is.”
Bisping: Gaethje Trying To Cement Title Fight
In the end, Bisping believes it’s extremely rare for anyone to become a champion — especially in their prime — and retire. Instead, he believes Gaethje was simply trying to further cement a potential title shot…by pissing Poirier off.
“You don’t retire when you win the belt and for Justin Gaethje to say that perhaps he thinks Dustin Poirier would retire rather than fight him? I think I know what Justin’s trying to do here. Justin’s trying to piss off Dustin Poirier,” Bisping explained. “He’s trying to solidify that title fight as opposed to Islam Makhachev.”
Of course, Poirier has to defeat current champion Charles Oliveira who many people are seemingly overlooking.
And while Bisping respects “Do Bronx” greatly and is happy to see his long journey culminate in a UFC title, he just can’t see Poirier not coming out on top.
“He gets a chance to go out there once again and fight for the undisputed title. He’s going up against Charles Oliveira and I’ve got to say I favor Dustin Poirier,” Bisping added. “I favor Dustin Poirier in that fight and more than likely, I think we’re gonna see Dustin Poirier as the undisputed champion of the world.”
You can watch the full video below:
