What’s next for Islam Makhachev? The UFC lightweight division houses some credible contenders. However, most of the title fight-worthy names are booked, except one. Makhachev’s former teammate and Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier has called for Dana White to consider Dustin Poirier for the Dagestan native’s next title defense.

Dustin Poirier had mentioned wanting to jump ship to the welterweight division in the past, and many fighters, including Vicente Luque, wanted to welcome him to the 170-pound club. However, ‘The Diamond’s recent KO win over Benoit Saint-Denis spurred talks about a potential title fight soon. Daniel Cormier is in favor of this idea, which makes perfect sense given the recent back-and-forth between the two lightweights.

Dustin Poirier can “propel” Islam Makhachev in the UFC, claims Daniel Cormier

Islam Makhachev is on a 13-fight winning streak during which he claimed the coveted UFC 155 lbs undisputed belt. Daniel Cormier believes his AKA teammate needs to go to the next level. The lightweight champion has also mentioned wanting to fight someone on the top of the food chain in the UFC so that he could level up. Cormier shared the same view and said, “You need that guy from the past to propel you forward… Islam wants to fight.”

This is where Dustin Poirier comes in. Makhachev has two title defenses under his belt, but both of them were against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. The 32-year-old has yet to fight a lightweight contender since beating Charles Oliveira for the vacant belt in 2022. With most of the top 5 booked for fights in the upcoming months, who better to challenge Makhachev than the former interim champion Poirier?

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“For Dustin Poirier, [it’s a] massive chance. For Islam Makhachev, another former champion you can put under your belt,” Cormier added. Following his co-main event win over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299, Poirier made it clear that the undisputed gold was the ultimate goal for him. At 35, this might be his last shot at a UFC title, having lost two previous 155 lbs title bouts, but that has not stopped him from raising the stakes.

Poirier and Makhachev have been trading shots on social media, both of them ready for a clash in as soon as June 2024. The Louisiana native laid down the challenge, claiming he could beat anybody. The champion in turn fired back, saying that if that had been true, Poirier would have been champion already. Not a bad start to a potential rivalry.

Considering all of the above, ‘DC’ doesn’t only think that the Poirier fight would be an important one for Makhachev, but he also believes that this fight could be a financial success.

‘DC’ urges Dana White to book Makhachev vs. Poirier for massive payday

Given Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev’s popularity among MMA fans, Daniel Cormier has no doubt regarding the potential of this fight being one of the biggest in the promotion. Therefore, he wants Dana White to make this fight official as soon as possible. Cormier further stated, “Book it. Right now, book it. Makhachev vs Poirier. It will be a massive fight.”

Cormier believed that it could also help Islam Makhachev get his biggest UFC paycheck so far since Dustin Poirier would be the most noteworthy opponent he’s ever fought. “It really will be the biggest fight that Islam Makhachev has ever had in terms of the box office,” ‘DC’ added.

So far, we don’t have any announcements regarding Islam Makhachev and his next title defense. Even he wants to go to the welterweight division and fight the champion. However, Daniel Cormier has raised a relevant argument about the Dagestan native fighting Dustin Poirier. Will that fight happen? We will have to wait and see what Dana White decides to do.

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