This past Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 299, we saw a massive fight in the lightweight division. Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier (30-8) was taking on the surging top contender Benoit Saint-Denis (13-2).
This was a surprising fight by many considering where Poirier was ranked and where Saint-Denis was ranked. Poirier is at the very top of the lightweight division and Saint-Denis was not in the title picture, but he was riding a five-fight finish streak.
Poirier took the fight because he wanted to prove that he could still take out hungry young contenders. The first round was not pretty for Poirier as he was trying to survive the storm of Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis finished the first round going for a submission on The Diamond.
In the second round, these two just started swinging. However, this proved to be disastrous for Saint-Denis. Poirier has some of the best boxing in the division if not the best and he made Saint-Denis pay. First, he dropped him with a huge left and then during another exchange, the former interim UFC champion put him to sleep.
What’s next after UFC 299?
This was such a massive win for Dustin Poirier and it’s been recognized by Dana White and UFC brass. Poirier was already a star, but the fact that he was willing to step in against a guy like Saint-Denis and accept this co-main event goes a long way. White said in the post-fight press conference that it’s moments like this that makes fighters a legend.
So, with this win, what’s next for Poirier? Well, believe it or not, a title shot could be next. Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is wanting to defend his title in June. Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje are ahead of Poirier in the pecking order at lightweight, but both men have fights at UFC 300.
It’s unlikely they’d be ready by June so if Makhachev gets his fight in June, Poirier should be the guy to get that shot. If Poirier doesn’t get the title shot, he should face off against one of the UFC 300 winners in his next fight and that should be a title eliminator.