It’s a rare day when two of the greatest fighters in UFC history list their potential opponents in their next fights.
Tuesday, July 16, was such a day as former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier shared a list of potential next opponents with Jon Anik and Kenny Florian on the Anik-Florian podcast.
Anik asked Poirier if he believed his next opponent would come from this batch of names.
- Nate Diaz
- Conor McGregor
- Alexander Volkanovski
- Justin Gaethje
- Max Holloway
- Charles Oliveira
- Colby Covington
“100 percent,” Poirier said. “Yeah, for sure. If I do fight again, and when I do fight again, it’ll definitely be one of those names you just mentioned.”
Anik immediately shut down the Covington option based on a potential “reliability” issue. Here is a look at the clip:
A fight with Holloway and Gaethje would be a third meeting.
It would be the fourth time he’s fought McGregor and the second time he’s faced Oliveira. Because Poirier has battled many of the fighters on the list at least once already, it could be more compelling for him to fight Volkanovski, Covington, or Diaz.
The latter would be exciting and fitting if it were a retirement fight. The two men had a fight scheduled for UFC 230 in 2018, but a hip injury forced Poirier out.
Because that fight feels like a scrap that probably should’ve happened already at some point, and because of Diaz’s drawing power, you’d have to think it would be the most attractive to Poirier.
We’ll wait and see.
For Usman, the situation is a little different. Anik asked Usman a similar question, including these four names: Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Machado Garry, Jack Della Maddalena, and Belal Muhammad.
Usman said, “yes.” Usman is not likely as close to retirement as Poirier. He’s likely among the top threats to win the title at 170 pounds.
However, a move to middleweight could be on deck, especially considering how well he showed against Khamzat Chimaev in October 2023. If Usman remains at welterweight, a matchup with Muhammad could be for the title if the latter upsets Leon Edwards on July 27.
Usman might also get a crack at Muhammad if he loses. After trading barbs recently, Rakhmonov and Garry might be headed for a head-to-head matchup, which would leave Maddelena as the most likely opponent of the fighters on the list.
That’s undoubtedly a main-card fight on any pay-per-view event for the rest of the year. We’ll see if it is added to Noche UFC or one of the later shows in 2024.
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