Poirier, Gaethje renew hostilities

Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will renew hostilities when they meet in the lightweight main event of UFC 291, set for the Delta Centre in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the morning of Sunday.

Poirier (29-7, 1 NC) and Gaethje (24-4) met in April 2018, with ‘Diamond’ claiming a win over ‘The Highlight’ thanks to a fourth-round TKO. This time around, the pair are fighting for the symbolic [or asinine, depending on your perspective] BMF [Baddest Mother F***er] title.

Poirier has won four of his last five trips to the Octagon, most recently submitting Michael Chandler at UFC 281 in November last year.

The 34-year-old Louisiana native has admitted that he needs to feel nervous ahead of a fight to get the best out of himself: “I just want those butterflies in my stomach, and I want to be nervous, and guys like [Michael] Chandler, Conor [McGregor], [Justin] Gaethje... those kind of fights give me that, you know?

"I'm fighting because I want to, not because I have to so I want to be excited and motivated.”

Gaethje had a shot at the lightweight title last year, losing via submission to Charles Oliveira (who was then stripped of the belt due to failing to make weight), but has since returned to winning ways by edging Rafael Fiziev via majority decision in March.

The 34-year-old from Arizona is expecting a thrilling clash against Poirier: “So this guy’s a dog and I know I’m going to have to be perfect. I know that there’s no need for animosity.

“We’re two of the best, most violent athletes in the sport. We both love what we do. We both love the carnage and we’re both content with what we’re about to put ourselves through.

“It’s all preparation. He’s super confident. I’m super confident coming off this last win. And again, this card is stacked. It’s going to be an electric night.”

The co-main event sees former middleweight champion Alex Pereira (7-2) make the move up to light heavyweight, where he will come up against the division’s former top dog Jan Blachowicz (29-9-1) – an interesting dynamic given that Blachowicz’s last ‘proper’ win came against Israel Adesanya (who also moved up to light heavyweight), the very man who knocked out Pereira in spectacular fashion earlier this year to reclaim the middleweight title.

The rest of the fight card features (among others) a welterweight battle between Michael Chiesa and Kevin Holland; Tony Ferguson taking on Bobby Green in the lightweight division; and a welterweight showdown between Stephen Thompson and Michael Pereira.

UFC 291 – Fight card

- Main event: Lightweight: Dustin Poirier v Justin Gaethje

- Co-main: Light heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz v Alex Pereira

- Lightweight: Tony Ferguson v Bobby Green

- Welterweight: Michael Chiesa v Kevin Holland

- Welterweight: Stephen Thompson v Michael Pereira

- Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis v Marcos Rogerio de Lima

- Welterweight: Gabriel Bonfim v Trevin Giles

- Middleweight: Roman Kopylov v Claudio Ribeiro

- Welterweight: Jake Matthews v Miguel Baeza

- Flyweight: CJ Vergara v Vinicius Salvador

- Welterweight: Matthew Semelsberger v Uros Medic

- Women’s flyweight: Miranda Maverick v Priscila Cachoeira