Dustin Poirier has left little doubt what he wants next: A rematch with Eddie Alvarez.
Poirier and Alvarez fought to a controversial no-contest at UFC 211 after Alvarez hit Poirier with illegal knees in the second round. And with both fighters winning their recent bouts — Poirier over Anthony Pettis and Alvarez over Justin Gaethje, Poirier believes the time’s right for a rematch.
But Alvarez just isn’t feeling it.
The former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion said that after scoring a third-round TKO of Gaethje — the previously undefeated former WSOF champ — a Poirier rematch would represent a step backward at a time Alvarez is looking to move forward.
“Considering what I just did, that would be the silliest thing I could do,” Alvarez said recently on The MMA Hour of a Poirier rematch. “They put me against an undefeated rising star in Justin Gaethje. They were going to give Gaethje a title fight. If Justin Gaethje beat me, he was going to fight for a title. Didn’t happen. I knocked the guy out and he’s never been beat in his life.”
Alvarez says that while he understands why Poirier wants the fight, Alvarez would rather sit back and see what transpires between training partner Edson Barboza and Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 219 before even thinking about what to do next.
“I respect Dustin for the push, he’s doing his best job,” Alvarez said. “But it’s all for naught. It would be silly for me to let me go backwards and look at that guy. I’m looking the same way he’s looking: Forward at like Tony Ferguson, we’ll keep an eye on the Khabib-Barboza fight. I’m going to do my best to help Edson whoop on Khabib. We’ll see how that top shakes out.”
The holder of his self-proclaimed Most Violent Fighter title, Alvarez has one fight left on his UFC contract. And while he refused to name names, Alvarez hinted that as part of his ongoing negotiations, a very big potential fight is being discussed.
“I have one fight left,” Alvarez said. “I’m going to sit down with the boss man. [Dana White] texted me on way home. We had a little bit of a conversation after the Justin Gaethje fight, and I think we’re gearing up to talk about a megafight. It shouldn’t be long, talk to Dana, get some things hashed out and do something big.”
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