Dustin Poirier reacts after his knockout victory over Conor McGregor of Ireland in a lightweight fight during the UFC 257 event inside Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 23, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The UFC Lightweight division is stacked with quality and Dustin Poirier has one hand on the title shot
UFC 257 was a huge event for one division alone and that was the Lightweight one. The pressure was already on the stars as Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier was a huge rematch that sold many PPVs.
Further, Michael Chandler was making his UFC debut and there were questions about his abilities. Chandler is a former Bellator champion but going up against Dan Hooker was a real test for him.
Poirier and Chandler came out flying in the tests and put themselves in the reckoning for the Lightweight title.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is unlikely to return and Dana White wanted to set up Chandler vs Poirier for the gold.
However, Poirier didn’t believe that Chandler had done enough for the title shot and declined the fight right after this win.
Poirier also recently appeared on MMA Junkie and was open to Charles Oliveira getting a shot at the title against Chandler. The Diamond wanted to see what all went on and select his fights. He was also calling himself as the uncrowned champion after UFC 257.
While Oliveira is undefeated in his last eight fights and defeated Tony Ferguson in his previous outing, Justin Gaethje is also someone who is firmly in the race for the title.
The Highlight was easily defeated by Khabib in his last outing but he still is one of the best and is ranked #1 in the division.
White has some big headaches ahead of him but he can ensure a huge PPV or two with some tasty match making.
The obvious fight to make for the title is Oliveira vs Poirier. Both looked great in their previous outing and they are in the top of their game.
While Poirier has faced Khabib in the past, the Russian praised the Brazilian recently. The winner of this clash could be up for another battle too.
Gaethje might be #1 in the division but his loss to Khabib might hurt. He could still get a crack at the title but he admitted a win is needed before he can do that.
Setting him up against Chandler would be a great fight as well. Chandler seems to have it all at the moment and going up against Gaethje would be a proper test for him.
Both fights could be on the same card, which would add a lot of interest in the PPV. McGregor and Ferguson are still big names and they could do something for the division in the future.
However, their recent records aren’t all that great and they need a win or two before getting back into the title scene.
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