With plenty of judging controversy and a definite lack of finishes, UFC 208 went down as a pretty forgettable card. The card did, however, produce one memorable moment in a thrilling, back-and-forth battle between talented lightweights Dustin Poirier and Jim Miller.
Despite sustaining a leg injury in the third round, Poirier ultimately won this action-packed fight by majority decision. With this win, the Louisiana native rebounded from a tough, knockout loss to lightweight contender Michael Johnson, and reaffirmed himself as one of the division’s gamest competitors.
Now back in the win column, Poirier can look forward to another big fight in the stacked lightweight division. And though nothing has been signed just yet, he has his eyes on two potential opponents in particular.
The first, he explained to FloCombat.com, is former champ Eddie Alvarez. Though this fight has been rumored over the last few days, Poirier explained that he hasn’t heard anything from the UFC about it yet. If a bout with Alvarez doesn’t materialize, he’d also be interested in a fight with streaking grappling specialist Michael Chiesa – who has also recently called for a fight with Alvarez.
“There’s a lot of rumors floating around about my next fight but I’d definitely be down to scrap with Eddie Alvarez,” he said. “I think that would be a great fight, and with him being the former champion that’s exactly the type of fight I’m looking for. I’m also up for fighting Michael Chiesa as well. Either of those fights would be a perfect next step for me.”
Poirier then explained that, whoever he fights next, he’s hoping to fight around July.
“The perfect time for me would be July. That gives me plenty of time to set up a camp and would put me in a position to fight three times this year. Obviously if the UFC comes with something sooner and it’s the right fight I’ll step in and take that, but otherwise I’m shooting for July.”
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This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/28/2017.