Fresh off his UFC 195 unanimous decision victory over prospect Joseph Duffy, lightweight Dustin Poirier fell short of the top ten according to the UFC’s official ranking system. Of course, more and more people are becoming aware of the system’s obvious flaws. After all, it does nothing else but compile the lists of 26 “MMA media members” – some of which don’t even regularly cover MMA. Nevertheless, Poirier sits at the number 12 spot just behind Bobby Green and Al Iaquinta. While I, along with many others, think of Dustin Poirier as a top 10 lightweight – he is only 3-0 at 155 lbs with zero wins against top 15 opponents. This brings on the question though: who should we see Dustin Poirier fight next?
Honestly, it’s hard to find an opponent that Poirier doesn’t match up well against. Dustin Poirier against pretty much anyone in the top 15 is sure to be an exciting fight. However, of Poirier’s three bouts at lightweight, he was fought very similar body types. Carlos Diego Ferreira, Yancy Medeiros, and Joseph Duffy all have one thing in common – they’re all long, rangy fighters. We have yet to see Poirier take on that short, stocky type of build that is the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov or Eddie Alvarez. Nurmagomedov and Alvarez may be a little too far up the ladder realistically for Poirier, but it’s something to keep in mind as Dustin Poirier progresses.
Nevertheless, a very popular match up is Nate Diaz. Diaz is coming off of a unanimous decision victory against Michael Johnson, and currently sits at number 6 (behind Johnson believe it-or-not, the man he just defeated). Many want to see this fight because, on paper, you have two very skillful strikers with two very different styles. Diaz is an in-your-face boxer who thrives off the frustration and tensity of his opponents while Poirier is a scrappy headhunter who never backs down from a test. To add another element, both Diaz and Poirier have shown very intelligent ground games; Poirier of course using top position, control of the hips, and a steady salvo of elbows to take all three rounds against Joseph Duffy at UFC 195.
Other interesting opponents include: Beneil Dariush, Al Iaquinta, Michael Johnson, Edson Barboza, and Michael Chiesa. Of the fighters mentioned, all are top 15 opponents with Chiesa being the only one not in the top 10. Dariush is riding a 5-fight win streak and most recently earned a controversial split decision win over Michael Johnson. “Raging” Al Iaquinta is on a 4-fight win steak and is also coming off a controversial split decision win; this one being against Jorge Masvidal in April of 2015. Michael Johnson of course is riding a two-fight losing streak; dropping decisions to Diaz and Dariush – look for Michael Johnson to get a tune up fight not named Dustin Poirier. Edson Barboza was last seen in an all-out war with Tony Ferguson which resulted in a submission loss for Barboza. Barboza has been a staplemate at 155 lbs, and has proven to be a stiff test for anyone wanting to move up into the top 5. Last but not least, we have Michael Chiesa who is on a 2-fight win streak with a decision against Mitch Clarke and then a submission over Jim Miller.
Out of all the options, I think a match up between Dustin Poirier and Beneil Dariush is the most fitting. Dariush needs to regain some momentum after his controversial win against Michael Johnson, and for Poirier, Beneil Dariush represents his first taste of top 10 material at 155 lbs.
