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UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has issued a message to Dustin Poirier following the Louisianan's UFC 264 victory.
Poirier came out on top against former 155-pound champion Conor McGregor after the Irishman suffered a broken tibia at the end of round one.
Dana White had essentially guaranteed that the winner of Poirier vs. McGregor 3 would be next in line for a title shot. So it would appear that Dustin Poirier will be Charles Oliveira's first title defense.
'The Diamond' was first to instigate an interaction between the two, stating with the following post-fight comment:
"Oliveira, big respect. I'm coming for it."
Charles Oliveira has since responded with a similarly brief and respectful message. In a four-second video posted to Oliveira's Twitter account, the champ simply said:
"Hey Dustin, congratulations man. See you."
Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier
Now that Khabib Nurmagomedov is officially retired from the sport of MMA, it is clear that Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira are the two best lightweights on the planet. However, there is only space for one at the top.
Whilst the Conor McGregor trilogy fight did end in a freak accident, Dustin Poirier still looked dominant throughout the majority of the fight up until the tibia break occurred. Two judges had Poirier winning round one with 10-8 scorecards, while the third had it at 10-9.
Prior to the win at UFC 264, Poirer picked up his first win over McGregor at UFC 257 earlier this year.
He also holds wins over some of the 155-pound division's greatest fighters, including Dan Hooker, Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway. Admittedly Holloway is typically a featherweight, but he is of such a high level that his name has to be mentioned.
By comparison, Charles Oliveira is currently on a nine-fight winning streak that includes victories over Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson and Jim Miller. In his most recent UFC performance, Oliveira took on Michael Chandler for the vacant lightweight title. Oliveira was forced to overcome extreme early adversity to knock Chandler out in the second round.
Oliveira and Poirier do not yet have a date or even an official booking for their fight. However, it seems almost certain it will be made, with the two men clearly the two greatest lightweights in the UFC right now.
