Islam Makhachev “needs” to fight Dustin Poirer, as well as Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler, says Daniel Cormier

Islam Makhachev is in need of fights with several of the lightweight division's biggest stars, according to former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier.

'DC' believes that while Makhachev certainly has the skills to justify his position as champion, he's yet to face the right contenders to boost his popularity with fans.

Given Cormier's assessment, it appears that the Dagestani's upcoming clash with Dustin Poirier, set to take place at UFC 302 on June 1, has come at the perfect time.

The former champion turned commentator also labeled Arman Tsarukyan's decision to turn down a fight with Makhachev in June as correct and explained why during a recent YouTube video uploaded to his channel.

He said this:

"I can't say that I think Arman Tsarukyan's making the wrong decision. Let me tell you why. I've long said that I think that Makhachev needs the names, granted, now he won't get [Justin] Gaethje because Max [Holloway] beat him. He needs names, he needed to beat Charles Oliveira, because that was a name that people recognize."

Cormier continued:

"He needs to fight Conor McGregor, or Michael Chandler, because those are the names. He needs those names to push himself up to the next level. He needs to fight Dustin Poirier, because those are the names that people recognize... He needs those guys. Arman doesn't have that name recognition yet, so by Arman turning down the fight, it allows for [Makhachev] to fight Poirier, hopefully if he wins, gain some name recognition off of Poirier."

Watch Cormier discuss Islam Makhachev's future below from 6:00:

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Arman Tsarukyan claps back at Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev will take on Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June.

But according to Arman Tsarukyan, he was offered the fight first following his UFC 300 victory over Charles Oliveira.

He turned down the short-notice clash, citing a lack of preparation time for what would be the most important fight of his career.

His decision has garnered some criticism from Makhachev, who claimed he knew that Tsarukyan would not accept the fight, as he had already turned the fight down several times.

His criticism has drawn a response from the surging lightweight contender, who wrote the following on X:

"That's not the truth. The truth is that you want to fight me on short notice to have an extra advantage. It won't happen again though. When was the last time you fought twice in 6 weeks?"

See Tsarukyan's response to Islam Makhachev below: