Dustin Poirier doesn’t have a favorite going into the UFC lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.
Nurmagomedov holds the UFC lightweight championship, while Gaethje is the interim title holder. A title unification bout is expected for September. Poirier was submitted by Nurmagomedov back in Sept. 2019 but holds a TKO victory over Gaethje. Still, Poirier has no dog in this fight.
Dustin Poirier On Khabib vs. Gaethje: ‘Let The Better Fighter Win’
During a virtual media day session, Poirier discussed the matchup between Nurmagomedov and Gaethje. Poirier insisted that he isn’t picking favorites (via MMAFighting).
“Let the best fighter win,” Poirier told MMA Fighting when asked about the fight during the UFC on ESPN 12 virtual media day. “Whoever performs the best that night, whoever prepared the best that night, get their hand raised. Whoever that is.
“Let the better fighter win. That’s all I’ve got to say. I’m not really rooting for anybody in that fight.”
Nurmagomedov has amassed a perfect pro MMA record of 28-0. Along the way, he’s beaten the likes of Poirier, Conor McGregor, and Rafael dos Anjos to name a few. He hasn’t competed since his second successful title defense last year.
As for Gaethje, he’s riding a four-fight winning streak. In that span, Gaethje has defeated Tony Ferguson, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and James Vick. All four of those bouts ended via knockout or TKO. When Gaethje stopped Ferguson, it snapped “El Cucuy’s” 12-fight winning streak.
Poirier is set to do battle on June 27. He’ll go one-on-one with Dan Hooker. The bout will headline UFC on ESPN 12 inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be Poirier’s first bout since his submission loss to Nurmagomedov.
