UFC President Dana White says that if everything goes according to plan, then Justin Gaethje will meet the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier.
Gaethje is fresh off a three-round war with Michael Chandler at UFC 268 back in November. The action was held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. Gaethje ended up winning the fight via unanimous decision.
Justin Gaethje Likely Due For Another Title Shot
Dana White recently spoke to Jim Rome. During the interview, the UFC boss confirmed that Justin Gaethje will likely be the one to challenge the winner of Oliveira vs. Poirier (via MMAFighting.com).
“Yup (he’s next). As long as everybody’s healthy and everything’s good, it should be him. Coming off one of the greatest fights anybody’s ever seen in their life. I literally predicted the whole week that that would be the Fight of the Night and it ended up being the Fight of a Lifetime and one of the greatest fights anybody has ever seen.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov had claimed to ESPN that Islam Makhachev has been promised a UFC Lightweight Title shot if he beats Beneil Dariush. That fight will happen on Feb. 26, so it’s possible that Makhachev will be allowed to sit and wait should he get past Dariush.
Gaethje has made it clear that despite being cool with Makhachev, he feels the number four-ranked UFC lightweight hasn’t earned a title shot yet. Here’s what Gaethje said on the UFC Unfiltered podcast (h/t MMAJunkie).
“Makhachev fought No. 14, went to No. 5 and fought a late replacement in Dan Hooker. It wasn’t Dan Hooker on a full camp. It does not count as much, but still, it’s two top 15 guys, none in the top five, only one in the top 10. That’s not how this sh*t works.”
Oliveira vs. Poirier will close the year for the UFC in terms of PPV events. It’ll be the first time Oliveira puts his 155-pound gold on the line. This will be Poirier’s third UFC title fight if you include his interim bout against Max Holloway.
