It looks like we will finally find out who the best lightweight in the UFC is in December. MMA Fighting reported this afternoon that the promotion is zeroing in on a date for the proposed lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira (31-8) and Dustin Poirier (28-6, 1 NC).
That date is December 11th and the event is UFC 269. Worth noting that the UFC has not finalized this and contracts have not been signed. That said, the promotion is moving in that direction and is scheduled to have meetings over the next couple of days to get things finalized.
Finally, Dustin Poirier is going to get another crack at the undisputed UFC lightweight title. After Khabib Nurmagomedov retired and vacated the lightweight title, many thought that Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira should have fought for the vacated title.
However, Poirier decided to secure a money fight instead. Poirier had defeated Conor McGregor back in January and the UFC offered Poirier a title shot or the trilogy with McGregor. Poirier opted for the trilogy fight which was the second highest selling UFC PPV in history.
The Diamond defeated McGregor again in July and his gamble paid off. He secured his big bag of money and now he’s getting the title shot that he deserved all along.
First UFC title defense for Oliveira
Oliveira was in the UFC’s plans for the interim title regardless of what happened with Poirier. Again, Poirier opted to go after the trilogy with McGregor which left Oliveira without an opponent.
Ultimately, the UFC booked Oliveira against Michael Chandler for the vacant undisputed lightweight title. Chandler dominated the first round of the fight and looked moments away from getting the stoppage and becoming UFC champion.
However, Oliveira stayed in the fight and held on until the end of the round. Just seconds into the second round, Oliveira dropped Chandler and went on to finish him to become the UFC lightweight champion.
Now, we are going to get the fight we should’ve had months ago. Make no mistake about it, Oliveira and Poirier are the two best lightweights in the UFC. Now, we will truly find out who is the king at 155 pounds.