Salt Lake City, UT — The start of July may have brought International Fight Week, but the end of the month has ushered in the fight fans really want to see: Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje 2.
A lightweight rematch years in the making, now with the “BMF” title on the line, has fans salivating. The hard-hitting duo’s first fight, after all, was most of the most violent encounters in modern UFC history. And with that in mind, it’s unlikely either man goes out and simply dominates at UFC 291 this Saturday. Even Gaethje himself sees this as a 50-50 sort of fight.
“Every fight you prepare for is— the reason why we’re such big fans of this sport is because it’s so anything, any time. Any shot, one shot is all it takes. And this guy is dangerous,” Gaethje (24-4) told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC 291 media day. “I’ve accepted that this is a 50-50 fight in my mind. With the chance at retribution, it’s been driving me every day to work harder.”
Gaethje lost that first meeting with Poirier five years ago. Retribution, and a title, symbolic or otherwise, drives him now. Yet while the “BMF” championship may add to the stakes of the UFC 291 main event, as Gaethje would point out, “I think this fight gives you that feel without anything on the line.” For legacy however, admitted Gaethje, “it’s huge.”
“First is championship belts and second is legacy. That’s why we fight. Third might be money, but those first two things are very important. We’re all trying to create a legacy that’s going to live on well past our time, and that’s been my goal from day one.”
Gaethje also sees the fight as a number one contender’s fight, given the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira has been announced for October.
“Yeah absolutely. I think this is number two versus number three. Number one is fighting the champion in October, and we’re going to fight the winner of that,” Gaethje predicted. “The winner of this fight.”
Poirier has predicted the pair will probably close out Saturday night in hospital. “The Highlight” is in agreement with that statement. “Yeah probably. We both create a lot of damage, and 25 minutes is long time to create that damage. So that’s a pretty fair assessment I would say.”
Training for the rematch, meanwhile, is like training for a whole new fight. Though there is one area Justin Gaethje identified from his first fight with Dustin Poirier that he had has focused on.
“Especially with the five years in between, we’ve both completely different people, different fighters. And with age comes wisdom. I’ve obviously grown, he’s grown. I remember he has a really nice left hand, it’s a beautiful left hand. So we’ve been working on that.”
Watch the full UFC 291 media day appearance by Justin Gaethje above.
