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Former UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has responded to ESPN journalist Ariel Helwani regarding the former's next Octagon outing. Helwani took to Twitter to put forth Tony Ferguson's name as a potential opponent for Poirier.
Poirier overcame adversity against Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC on ESPN 12 in a back and forth thriller that is a surefire contender for fight of the year. Fight fans were treated to a five-round all-out war between two of the deadliest lightweights in the world. Poirier survived early pressure from Hooker to emerge victorious in the end via unanimous decision.
Who's next in line to face Dustin Poirier
Following the magnificent performance by 'The Diamond' in the main event, the MMA community already started speculating who Poirier's next opponent will be. Many fans were willing to see a fight between Poirier and Tony Ferguson.
Former UFC interim lightweight champion Ferguson is coming off of a fifth-round TKO to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. Although Ferguson succumbed to defeat against Gaethje, he remains one step above Poirier in the UFC rankings.
Both Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson are two of the best lightweights in the world and with Conor McGregor out of action, the fight makes perfect sense for them to reach the pinnacle of the lightweight division again.
With UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov set to fight interim champ Justin Gaethje next, the fight between Ferguson and Dustin Poirier could possibly determine the new #1 contender for the title. However, Dustin Poirier could already be the next challenger for the title and if Justin Gaethje manages to pull off the unthinkable and beats Nurmagomedov, a rematch between Gaethje and Dustin Poirier for the lightweight title would be quite the prospect.
