UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier believes that his upcoming rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 257 “could potentially be” for a belt.

The status of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is up in the air at the moment. After defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from MMA. However, UFC president Dana White says that he will be meeting with the lightweight champ in January in Abu Dhabi in order to convince him to fight one more time. With Nurmagomedov’s current status in limbo, some have called for him to vacate his title or for an interim belt to potentially be created.

On January 23, Poirier and McGregor meet in the main event of UFC 257. Depending on how White’s meeting with Nurmagomedov goes during that week, there is a chance that this fight could end up being for a title. Speaking to BT Sport, Poirier explained why he believes he and McGregor could be fighting for a belt next month.

“I feel like Khabib’s a guy of his word. If he says he’s retired, he’s most likely retired. I feel like me and Conor could potentially be for the belt, you know? He’s a former champion,” Poirier said.

“I’m a former interim champ looking to get some gold back around my waist. Conor’s a former undisputed world champion in the lightweight division. Both of our last defeats were to the current, retired champion. So I don’t know, but there’s a storyline you can draw with a lot of these fights. But I try not to pay too much attention to it because on January 23 I’m fighting one of the best guys in the world.”

Right now McGregor and Poirier are meeting for five rounds or less but with no belt on the line. Depending on how White’s meeting with Nurmagomedov goes next month, that could very well change in a few weeks and a belt could be up for grabs.

Do you think Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2 should be for a belt?