Poirier 'down' for trilogy bout with Gaethje

Just before Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko throw down for a third time at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas, another trilogy fight could be brewing.

Lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, who has promised MMA fans one more fight before retirement, posted Friday on X that he wouldn't mind running things back with Justin Gaethje.

"You know I'm down," Poirier wrote of a potential third meeting against Gaethje.

Poirier's message was in response to Gaethje expressing interest in the fight. Earlier this week, Gaethje listed Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker, and Alexander Volkanovski as four opponents he's open to facing next.

Gaethje knocked out Poirier with a brutal head kick in the UFC 291 main event in July 2023 to capture the BMF title. Poirier previously defeated Gaethje via fourth-round TKO in a 2018 "Fight of the Year" candidate. Both men are former interim 155-pound champions and have been ranked in the top five for years. They're also considered two of the most exciting fighters in the sport.

Though Gaethje is interested in settling the score with Poirier, "The Highlight" said he wouldn't be upset if it never happened.

"I walked out there after (the rematch), it was 1-1, I told him, 'Let's not do it again,'" Gaethje told reporters. "I'm not saying I don't want to, but that was the conversation we had that night. We're 1-1, and we're talking years off each other's lives."

Poirier contemplated retirement after a submission loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 in June. However, "The Diamond" recently said he plans to have one more fight before ending his illustrious career.