Dustin Poirier is the hottest name in the UFC this week after scoring a 2nd round TKO over Conor McGregor on January 23rd in stunning fashion.
Poirier came in with a fantastic plan and implemented it almost flawlessly. After taking away McGregor’s lead leg, Poirier could smell blood in the water and went in for the kill halfway through the 2nd round. A flurry of brutal shots put McGregor down and out.
Now, the UFC has to figure out what’s next for Poirier. That will also coincide with what the lightweight champion does next. Currently, Khabib Nurmagomedov is retired and not willing to come back and defend his title.
More than likely, the UFC will have to remove the title off of Khabib and put it up for grabs with Poirier being one of the likely candidates to fight for the vacant belt.
With that said, UFC betting sites have listed odds on who Poirier’s next opponent will be. Let’s step inside the betting octagon to examine these odds and see if we can earn some cash with our fantasy matchmaking.
What it was like to see Conor McGregor knocked out by Dustin Poirier at the UFC 257 main event. Read @mikebohnmma dispatch https://t.co/zZrBtfxjPn
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 25, 2021
Dustin Poirier Betting Odds
The following odds are courtesy of BetOnline:
- Michael Chandler (+150)
- Charles Oliveira (+300)
- Conor McGregor (+450)
- Khabib Nurmegamedov (+600)
- Nate Diaz (+800)
- Justin Gaethje (+1400)
- Tony Ferguson (+1400)
Michael Chandler (+150)
Michael Chandler is coming off an emphatic win in his debut with the UFC when he defeated Dan Hooker via 1st round KO. The former three time Bellator champ is a fresh face in a pool filled with well-known fighters.
Following his win over Hooker, Chandler called out Poirier, McGregor and Nurmagomedov. The former interim-lightweight champ Dustin Poirier was not interested in this idea. In fact, he flat out rejected the possibility in the post-UFC 257 presser:
“No, it does not (make sense). Respect to Chandler, great win, but to come in and beat a guy I just beat and get a title shot? I’ve been in 27, 28 fights in the UFC, fighting the toughest of the toughest guys to get my hands on gold. He should fight Charles Oliveira or something. Let Chandler and Charles Oliveira go at it. That doesn’t really interest me at this point. I’m going to sell hot sauce if that’s the case.”
.@DustinPoirier isn’t overly interested in facing Michael Chandler after his TKO win at #UFC257:
“He should fight Charles Oliveira… I’m the champ.”
Watch full video: https://t.co/DMjNkIPpCz pic.twitter.com/jjTxF41E59
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 24, 2021
UFC President Dana White told reporters that both Poirier and Chandler just both fought and they won’t be returning to the octagon anytime soon.
He will figure out what to do with the lightweight title once the situation with Nurmagomedov is officially cleared up.
Charles Oliveira (+300)
Charles Oliveira is the 3rd ranked fighter in the 155 pound weight class and has won eight straight fights within the division. Yet, he can’t seem to land a Top 5 fight with anyone right now.
Poirier feels that Chandler should fight Oliveira next. So, not only does he not want to fight Chandler, but Dustin doesn’t even view Oliveira as the man to oppose him in his next fight.
The UFC needs to do something with Oliveira soon. He’s coming off a very impressive win over Tony Ferguson late last year and is clearly one of the top contenders in the division.
Conor McGregor (+450)
If it were up to Conor McGregor, he would have the trilogy fight right away. In fact, his representatives are pushing for a third fight with Poirier in May.
McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh made the following comments about the desire for a trilogy bout:
“He’s already harassing everybody to get the rematch, so we would love to rematch. I don’t think Dustin is against that. If we can get the rematch before summer, that would be amazing.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov tweeted after Conor McGregor’s TKO loss to Dustin Poirier: pic.twitter.com/BqX0XnPMtz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 24, 2021
Obviously, McGregor would love to get revenge for his upset TKO defeat. But, does it really make sense for Poirier to go down this road again so soon?
Khabib Nurmegamedov (+600)
As of now, Khabib Nurmagomedov has no desire to return to the octagon. Not only does he not see any viable challenges, he believes that he’s levels above everyone in the division:
“I did talk to Khabib. He said to me, ‘Dana, be honest with yourself. I’m so many levels above these guys. I beat these guys.’ I don’t know. I don’t know what he’s—it doesn’t sound very positive, so we’ll see. And what he said was, I told you guys before, he won’t hold the division up. I mean, he already retired. He’s basically retired, I’m the one that’s been trying to get him to do one more.”
Not only does it not sound like Nurmagomedov is coming back, but there’s no reason why he would come back to take on Poirier. Khabib already beat Poirier two years ago in convincing fashion.
Even though Poirier got the big win over McGregor, it doesn’t elevate him to a level where anyone believes he will beat Khabib.
Nate Diaz (+800)
Two weeks ago, Dana White announced that Nate Diaz was moving down to lightweight for his upcoming bout and that it would be a matchup that fans liked. However, it seems highly unlikely that the bout White was referring to would be against Poirier.
First, nobody knew if Poirier would win. Second, it seemed like Diaz would fight sooner than later and Poirier will most likely not return until May or June at the earliest.
Justin Gaethje (+1400)
These two first fought in 2018 and Poirier scored a TKO victory over Gaethje. However, Justin would go on to win four fights in a row and capture the interim lightweight title with a win over Tony Ferguson. Following that win, he took on Khabib and lost.
Gaethje is still a Top 5 lightweight and he certainly deserves a rematch against Poirier. However, I think he’s a win away from getting that rematch, which is why online betting sites have set him at such long odds.
Tony Ferguson (+1400)
If this was last fall then Ferguson would be next in line. Unfortunately, he took on Oliveira instead and lost. Ferguson is on a two fight losing streak and won’t be in consideration for a title shot until he puts together a few big wins.
I am the champion
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) January 25, 2021
With that said, it hasn’t stopped Ferguson from calling out Poirier on social media by saying Dustin ducked him.
Who Will Dustin Poirier Fight Next?
The first step to figuring out what will happen next with Poirier is for the UFC to officially remove the lightweight title from Nurmagomedov. He sounds retired and uninterested in fighting anyone currently in the lightweight division.
Once that happens, we will get a better idea of who the UFC views should contend for the vacant title. There’s no doubt that Poirier will be one of the fighters. But, the UFC will have to decide if it’s just a two man or four man venture.
If it’s four men, then the UFC could put Poirier, Oliveira, Chandler and Gaethje all in fights against each other with the winners facing off for the title.
If it’s just two men, then the UFC will have to find an opponent for Poirier. When you look at the resumes, it has to be Oliveira. He’s won eight in a row and just wiped out Ferguson.
Charles Oliveira: Dustin Poirier ‘the fight to make’ for UFC belt, could entice Khabib Nurmagomedov to return (@guicruzzz) https://t.co/lyCD8hd8AQ pic.twitter.com/SckKbtEXhm
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 26, 2021
Oliveira is 3rd in the division and definitely high enough up in the rankings to be in a title fight. Poirier has already fought Gaethje, Hooker and McGregor. It makes no sense to put him in a fight with one of those three men for the title because they don’t deserve it.
Oliveira deserves the title shot and if the UFC were to take a step back and look at the landscape then they will come to the same conclusion. Poirier can’t argue against this because it’s the same logic as he used for not fighting Chandler.
Put Chandler against Gaethje for the #1 contender’s spot. Give McGregor the loser of Poirier and Oliveira.
Hey Dana White, you are welcome for the suggestions!
Who Will Dustin Poirier Fight Next? –Oliveira (+300)
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
