Dustin Poirier approves of Ilia Topuria getting immediate UFC title shot at lightweight

Dustin Poirier thinks Ilia Topuria has done enough to move straight into a UFC lightweight title shot.

Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) relinquished his featherweight title for a move up to 155 pounds. With the belt now vacant, Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will battle it out to crown a new champion at UFC 314 on April 12.

Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) appreciates Topuria’s decision to leave featherweight behind in his pursuit of the lightweight title.

“I mean, it’s respectful,” Poirier told MMA Fighting. “It’s honorable to vacate the belt, to not hold up the division where guys have been working so hard to get their shot at the title. He’s doing it the right way.

“I’ve never seen him in person, but everybody says he’s heavy, he walks around heavy. But if he can make 145, I don’t know how big he is because some of these lightweights are huge.”

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) and his team would like to see Topuria fight a top contender first before getting a title shot, with Makhachev’s manager even throwing Poirier’s name as a suggestion.

But with back-to-back knockout finishes over Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Poirier thinks “El Matador” has earned a straight route to gold.

“That’s tough to say, especially with all of the contenders, with how the lightweight division’s been over the last few years,” Poirier said. “But with a guy like him, vacating the belt and moving up, finishing Max Holloway the way that he did, I would give him a crack at the lightweight title right off the bat.”

Poirier is currently gearing up for his retirement fight, and is targeting legends only in his final dance. He hopes to headline an event in his home state of Louisiana.