Dustin Poirier Pens Down The Next Opponent Whom Alex Pereira Should Fight For "Respect"

In his recent interview, former UFC interim Lightweight champion Dustin Poirier said that the UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira should fight Magomed Ankalaev next for the respect of the Sport. “Diamond” thinks that Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones will be massive for entertainment purposes, but if it is about respecting the Sport, then Magomed Ankalaev is the number two ranked contender in the division, and “Poatan” needs to defend his title against him next.

Alex Pereira defended his belt against Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 303 after both fighters agreed to fight on short notice for two weeks. The fight didn’t go well for Jiri Prochazka as “Poatan” knocked him out in the initial seconds of round 2. After the battle, Alex Pereira showed interest in a higher weight class to fight Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall next to become UFC’s first three-division champion, but according to Dustin Poirier, he should avoid moving to heavyweight for now and focus on defending his light heavyweight title one more time.

“Is this a legit sport or is this entertainment? That’s what you gotta figure out. If it’s a legit sport, I guess the next guy in line at 205 would be Ankalaev. You’d have to do it just for the respect of the game. But for entertaintment, Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira is the one.”
Dustin Poirier on the MMA hour

Dustin Poirier lost his last fight against the UFC lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev by fifth-round submission. Before the fight, it was speculated that this was going to be his retirement fight, but “Diamond” is not looking to quit right now and will fight one more time before bidding farewell to the UFC. Who will be his next opponent is an update to look out for, as the UFC hasn’t announced that.