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Following his heartbreaking loss at UFC 269, Dustin Poirier is at a crossroads of sorts in his career. He has now been defeated in two UFC lightweight title bouts, losing via rear-naked choke to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.
Thankfully, ‘The Diamond’ has no shortage of potential opponents to attempt to bounce back against. With viable foes at both lightweight and welterweight, who should Dustin Poirier fight next following his loss to Oliveira?
A lot depends on his goals at this point. Does Dustin Poirier still have dreams of becoming the UFC lightweight champion – or after his latest setback, will he now target potential “money fights”?
Either way, there are plenty of options for him. That being said, here are five potential opponents for Dustin Poirier following his loss to Charles Oliveira.
#5. Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler
If Dustin Poirier wants to face an opponent who could put him straight back into title contention, he should look no further than Michael Chandler.
The former Bellator lightweight kingpin announced himself in the UFC back in January with a sensational knockout of Dan Hooker. He is now widely recognized as one of the promotion’s best fighters at 155 lbs.
Sure, Chandler has since suffered losses to both Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. However, he’s still ranked No.5 and a win over him would probably go a long way towards propelling Dustin Poirier into a rematch with Charles Oliveira.
Additionally, Chandler's heavy-handed style and willingness to exchange bombs with his opponent could provide ‘The Diamond’ with an amazing stylistic clash.
Would Dustin Poirier’s pressure-boxing style allow him to defeat Chandler in a similar fashion to his wins over Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez? Or would Chandler's power prove to be too much for ‘The Diamond’ to handle?
The UFC could easily promote this matchup. A bout between Poirier and Chandler is guaranteed fireworks and would be a welcome addition to any of the promotion's pay-per-view cards in 2022.
With both men coming off losses – albeit in huge fights – it just feels like this clash would make a lot of sense for all parties involved.
#4. Dustin Poirier vs. Tony Ferguson
Another potential opponent for Dustin Poirier would be Tony Ferguson. There’s probably a fair argument to suggest that Ferguson is on the decline in his UFC career.
‘El Cucuy’ is coming off three straight losses and doesn’t look like the same fighter that terrorized the lightweight division for years. More importantly, he’s about to turn 38 years old and has taken tons of damage over the years.
However, as a former interim UFC lightweight champ, Ferguson is still one of the biggest names in the division right now – making him a viable opponent for Dustin Poirier.
This fight might be more attractive to ‘The Diamond’ than it might initially seem. Based on the recent form of the two lightweights, Poirier would undoubtedly be favored to win.
While a win over Ferguson wouldn’t propel Dustin Poirier right back into a title shot, from a legacy standpoint, a victory over ‘El Cucuy’ would go a long way.
Notably, even the broken-down version of Ferguson we’ve seen in recent years is capable of putting on a great fight. Against an aggressive opponent like Dustin Poirier, fireworks would almost certainly ensue – making this one a worthy booking.
#3. Dustin Poirier vs. Rafael dos Anjos
While he doesn’t have the biggest name in the UFC lightweight division, Rafael dos Anjos is undoubtedly one of the more dangerous fighters in the weight class.
dos Anjos, a former UFC lightweight champion, appeared to be on the decline in his career a couple of years ago – but a move back to 155 lbs has seemingly re-energized him. He looked to be back to his best last year with a dominant win over Paul Felder.
Injuries have kept the Brazilian out of action ever since. Nevertheless, he is still ranked No.6 in the division, making him a viable opponent for Dustin Poirier.
This fight would undoubtedly be a dangerous one for ‘The Diamond’. Poirier would be expected to beat dos Anjos comfortably, meaning a loss could be disastrous for his career.
The fight wouldn't necessarily pique the interest of fans, like some of the others on this list would. However, RDA is also one of the few ranked fighters in the division who doesn’t currently have an opponent.
If ‘The Diamond’ is looking to fight again as soon as possible, then this matchup could well be a good choice for him.
#2. Dustin Poirier vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Despite once competing at 145 lbs, Dustin Poirier now appears to be one of the larger lightweights on the UFC’s roster. He clearly has to cut quite a bit of weight to reach the lightweight limit.
Poirier has hinted at a move up to the welterweight division on quite a few occasions. So why not book ‘The Diamond’ against the 170 lbs division’s fastest up-and-comer, Khamzat Chimaev?
Chimaev has already gone 4-0 in the UFC despite only being part of the roster for just over a year. So far, no opponent has even come close to testing him. His most recent foe, Li Jingliang, was thoroughly dominated despite many expecting him to give ‘Borz’ a tricky fight.
UFC president Dana White has been bullish about Chimaev’s prospects, saying he’s ready to fight anyone – adding that other top welterweights are currently avoiding a fight with him.
That’s where Dustin Poirier could come in. Not only would this fight probably be worthy of headlining a UFC pay-per-view, but if ‘The Diamond’ could become the man to stop Chimaev’s hype train, he’d instantly put himself back on track.
More importantly, as a lightweight moving up a division, Poirier probably wouldn’t pick up too much flack if he were to lose to a larger, more powerful foe like ‘Borz’.
This fight would undoubtedly come out of left field, but it’d be one of the most exciting that the UFC could make right now and would undoubtedly have the fans salivating.
#1. Dustin Poirier vs. Colby Covington
Assuming Dustin Poirier is willing to move up to 170 lbs, the fight that might make the most sense for him right now could be against former UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington.
Like Poirier, Covington’s hopes of becoming a UFC champion were dashed in 2021, as he fell to current welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman for the second time.
Just like ‘The Diamond’, Covington doesn’t necessarily have a clear and obvious route back to another crack at the champion. So with neither man likely to be claiming a shot at gold in 2022, why not match them together?
After all, there’s a ready-made backstory between the two.
Covington and Poirier were teammates at American Top Team for quite a few years. However, things turned sour in 2020 when ‘Chaos’ labelled Poirier a “doofus” after ‘The Diamond’ supposedly complained about him to ATT owner Dan Lambert.
Since then, Covington has constantly attacked Poirier in the media. 'Chaos' released footage of Poirier supposedly bullying an amateur fighter in training – something refuted by ‘The Diamond’, who claimed his sparring partner was a professional with 20 wins. Recently, Covington also labeled Poirier a “quitter” after his recent loss to Charles Oliveira.
There is no doubt that Dustin Poirier would probably love to shut Covington’s mouth – even if there’d be a big question mark over whether he could pull it off.
If ‘The Diamond’ is now targetting “money fights” rather than a path back to the UFC lightweight title, then this ought to be the ideal fight for him.
