Dustin Poirier calls for fights with Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway

Dustin Poirier was watching UFC 308 and the thrilling event gave him some ideas for his next fight.

First and foremost, Poirier is interested in a fight with either featherweight champion Ilia Topuria or Max Holloway, a declaration he made on social media following the conclusion of Saturday’s UFC event in Abu Dhabi.

Topuria defended his title in stunning fashion with a third-round knockout of Holloway—a feat that made him the first fighter ever to finish Holloway via strikes—and afterwards suggested he would rematch Alexander Volkanovski, who was present to step into the cage and congratulate the featherweight king.

However, Topuria has made it clear he intends to move to lightweight in the future and Poirier wants to be on the list of potential opponents.

“I want Max or Topuria,” Poirier wrote on social media, later adding, “He’s a great boxer, let’s throw them things” presumably still talking about Topuria.

Poirier also mentioned the possibility of fighting Holloway, an opponent he holds two wins over in a pair of memorable contests. The fan favorites first fought at UFC 143 in 2012, when Holloway was just five fights into his pro career, and it was Poirier who walked out with a first-round submission win.

They rematched seven years later at UFC 236, that time for an interim lightweight title. Poirier again emerged victorious, winning a unanimous decision over Holloway in one of the best fights of 2019.

Poirier is coming off of a fifth-round submission loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, a result that left him with plenty of options but no clear path back to a title shot. It appears that “The Diamond” has a few ideas to ensure that he remains near the top of the marquee.