In the wake of Ilia Topuria‘s massive UFC 317 win, Dana White made an exciting announcement. As Islam Makhachev looks to win a second divisional title, the welterweight strap, the UFC CEO claimed that there is a possibility of the Dagestan native taking on the lightweight champion in the near future. “Obviously, if Islam won the title, you immediately have a superfight with him and Ilia,” the 55-year-old recently stated.

Well, how do you think that fight pans out? Well, Dustin Poirier, who’s gearing up for his retirement fight at UFC 318, was certainly surprised by Ilia Topuria’s dominant KO win over Charles Oliveira in the last pay-per-view, and so was everybody else. Despite claims that he’s undersized in the lightweight division, the Georgian-Spanish star proved everyone wrong and claimed a second belt, which ‘The Diamond’ didn’t seem too surprised about. The legend claims to be a fan of ‘El Matador’.

“It’s not that I didn’t think he [Topuria] could do it [at UFC 317], or it would happen, I was just surprised like everybody else,” Dustin Poirier stated during the UFC 318 media day scrum. “We’ve seen Charles stopped, but we’ve never seen him put out like that. Just the streak the guy’s on, I’m a big fan. Anytime he’s fighting, I’m watching… He’s him.”

When it came to a fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier admitted that the Dagestan native is indeed a massive individual. But ‘El Matador’ has been able the squash the size discrepancy debate when he won his last fight, and as far as ‘The Diamond’ is concerned, he believes Topuria can knock out welterweight fighters. “I think he’s going to 170lbs to fight Islam, if Islam wins, is a stretch, you know. Islam’s big, man… I do think if they fight, Ilia can knock anybody out from 145lbs to 170lbs. He has the skills, the power [and] the technique,” Poirier added.

Well, Islam Makhachev may have to watch out for Ilia Topuria, even at 170lbs, but besides talking about the Georgian-Spaniard, Dustin Poirier also shed some light on the Dagestan native’s move to welterweight and his title aspirations as well. Here’s what he had to say, and it’s quite positive.

Dustin Poirier claims Islam Makhachev can become the welterweight champion

170lbs is a more natural weight for the former lightweight champion, according to Dustin Poirier. He believes that not getting to cut much weight won’t affect his life outside of fighting, and given that ‘The Diamond’ already mentioned how big Islam Makhachev is, he’s got no doubt that Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protégé can achieve what his mentor did not.

But on the other side, Jack Della Maddalena is no slouch either. His win over a wrestler like Belal Muhammad says a lot about how much of a challenge he will be for Islam Makhachev. But when we get to their fight, Dustin Poirier believes the early phases of the fight will explain everything that the fans need to know about the outcome. Since Maddalena is a proper welterweight, Poirier cannot be too sure of who comes out on top.

“His [Makhachev’s] lifestyle outside of training camp’s going to be more comfortable, and he’ll fill into that weight class. No problem. He can be champion there for sure,” Dustin Poirier added. “I think the beginning of the fight is gonna tell the story. Like how well JDM does in getting up, how well JDM does in keeping Islam off his feet, off his legs, off the cage. It’s tough to call that because JDM is a big guy, athletic. I’m excited about that.”

Well, we will, if we do, get the fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev after the latter’s clash against Jack Della Maddalena. It is a big fight, but it depends on the outcome of the welterweight title fight. Nevertheless, what do you make of Dustin Poirier’s comments? Drop your comments below.