Dustin Poirier says Ilia Topuria should get the title fight against Islam Makhachev after vacating the featherweight title.
UFC CEO Dana White announced this past Wednesday that Topuria is vacating the featherweight title to move up to 155, leading to Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes fighting for the vacant belt in the main event of UFC 314 in April.
While making an appearance at Galaxy Experience Space in New York City, Poirier gave his thoughts on Topuria giving up the 145-pound title.
“I mean, it’s respectful,” Poirier told MMA Fighting. “It’s honorable to vacate the belt, to not hold up the division where guys have been working so hard to get their shot at the title. He’s doing it the right way.
“I’ve never seen him in person, but everybody says he’s heavy, that he walks around heavy, but if he can make 145, I don’t know how big he is because some of these lightweights are huge.”
The debate since White’s announcement has been whether or not Topuria should get an immediate title shot against Makhachev, or if he should face another contending lightweight to prove he can hang at the top of the division.
Makhachev’s management team has tweeted out that they believe Topuria should face someone like Poirier, or Charles Olivieira, or someone else at the top of the division, while others believe Topuria wouldn’t make this move if there wasn’t some type of promise in place.
If it were up to Poirier, Topuria wouldn’t need a tune-up, prove-your-worth type of matchup.
“That’s tough to say, especially with all of the contenders, with how the lightweight division’s been over the last few years,” Poirier said. “But with a guy like him, vacating the belt and moving up, finishing Max Holloway the way that he did, I would give him a crack at the lightweight title right off the bat.”
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