UFC 324 was a historic event for Justin Gaethje as he became the first two-time interim lightweight champion. After ‘The Highlight’ and Paddy Pimblett clashed in a hard-fought five-round bout, the main eventers were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus. But after Gaethje received the prize, he took a sly dig at his former opponent, Dustin Poirier.

‘The Highlight’ has been part of the UFC for almost a decade now and has made a total of 15 appearances to date. But amid those fights, Gaethje also received several bonus awards. And something similar happened at UFC 324. After their fight, both Pimblett and Gaethje were awarded the ‘Fight of the Night’ (FOTN) bonus. For ‘The Highlight’, that also tied him for the highest number of FOTN bonus (10) with Dustin Poirier and Edson Barboza.

Justin Gaethje downplays Dustin Poirier and Edson Barboza’s bonus record

“That’s through 15 fights, and they had 30, 32, 31s. No one’s been as exciting and consistent as me ever. Again, I’ve watched this sport since they were gouging each other in the eyes, kicking each other in the b*lls… and no one, no one has been as consistent as me. And that’s exciting, and I’m proud of that. Luckily, it’s just who I am because I don’t try,” Gaethje told during the UFC 324 post-fight press conference.

Both Poirier and Barboza have a total of 32 UFC fights. Although ‘The Diamond’ has retired from MMA, Barboza actively competes in the UFC at 40 years of age. But, for Gaethje, to be able to achieve that in 15 fights surely stands out among the fans.

His fights against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313, Max Holloway at UFC 300, and Michael Chandler at UFC 268 are some of the bouts where he received the FOTN bonus. Although Gaethje took a sly dig at Poirier, the two seemingly share a good bond with each other.

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Dustin Poirier reacts to Justin Gaethje’s UFC 324 win

In the electrifying UFC lightweight division, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier were two of the top names during the latter’s active years. But in the current 155-pound division, there are many up-and-coming fighters. Amid that, Gaethje still stands strong as he became a two-time interim UFC lightweight champion. His fight against Paddy Pimblett moved many and sparked reactions from them, including Poirier.

“Welcome to the big leagues Patrick! 1 up for the Legends #UFC324,” Poirier wrote on X. And as it seems, ‘The Diamond’ was rooting for his former rival to win. Gaethje and Poirier fought twice in the octagon. And despite being former rivals, they seemingly take a stand for each other.

In regard to that, a recent instance saw Gaethje shutting down Pimblett for Poirier. “He sounds overconfident, he’s out here disrespecting legends like Dustin Poirier. I’m going to dog walk this English f*** on Saturday. Watch!” Gaethje said during the UFC 324 pre-fight press conference.

And as promised, ‘The Highlight’ delivered. But what comes next for him? Practically, after winning the interim lightweight belt, he has now booked his slot for a title unification bout against Ilia Topuria. But the date of that possible clash is yet to be decided. Let us know in the comments below if you think Gaethje can be Topuria’s kryptonite!