The lightweight division of the UFC at this moment holds more firepower than most organizations can imagine. But it is also deliciously complex. It does not matter how the matchmakers pit the top-ranked fighters against each other, any and all bouts will be guaranteed fireworks. Ironically enough, that’s what makes it so difficult to do matchmaking there. Take a look at this interaction between Dustin Poirier, Daniel Cormier, and Chael Sonnen for example.

‘The Diamond’ of the lightweight division, Dustin Poirier, sat down at the ESPN booth and discussed the UFC 314 card with Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen. As most of you might be aware, Poirier is a desk analyst for the Miami PPV this weekend, so he joined the latest edition of ESPN’s ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ with the Hall of Famers. But he was not expecting a Sonnen to casually drop a huge update for the lightweight division, just minutes into their chat.

Veering off the importance of the Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett UFC 314 co-main event, Sonnen said, “155 has only one piece of clarity, it’s that Dustin and Max [Holloway] are matched up. After that, we don’t have anybody for [Arman] Tsarukyan. We don’t have anybody for Ilia, we don’t have anybody for Justin Gaethje. I think the bosses are sitting and waiting for the outcome of Paddy and Chandler,” leaving Poirier speechless.

“That’s a good headline,” said Cormier as he tried to move on from the topic, but Sonnen saw through the attempt to brush over the topic. So, ‘DC’, while surprised by Sonnen’s statement, said, “Can I tell you what the problem is? You just said, the one thing we know is that Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway are matched up. I don’t know if that’s true though.” Dustin Poirier sneakily added, ” I don’t either… I started sweating when he said that.”

With a champion like Islam Makhachev, and names like Charles Olivera and Ilia Topuria chasing a shot, even those who are not in the title picture are veterans of the sport who can bring considerable draws in for the company. With a massive fight this week between Pimblett and Chandler, the lightweight division may see a different set of fights following this one’s outcome.

Presently, we have Justin Gaethje, Ilia Topuria, Charles Oliveira, and Arman Tsarukyan all vying for a title shot. There were rumors of Topuria fighting Oliveira, just as there are rumors of him fighting Islam Makhachev at International Fight Week. And who does Makhachev want to fight? Justin Gaethje! So, the odd one out is Arman Tsarukyan who Dana White and Co. are seemingly sidelining for pulling out of UFC 311 at the last minute.

Once, Islam Makhachev gets the title challenger, the remaining two will likely fight each other. And Arman Tsarukyan could very well get the winner of Pimblett vs. Chandler. Sorted, right? Wrong!

That matchmaking still leaves two fighters in the lightweight top 5 free – Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. So, do you see how Sonnen’s claim is logically sound? There were rumors that this fight would go down in the New Jersey PPV as Poirier’s swan song. But that does not seem to be the case. However, there is Beneil Dariush’s confession to ‘Submission Radio’ that he too heard this was the fight that the UFC was trying to get booked. Further details remain shrouded in mystery, except what Holloway and Poireir have said so far.

Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway to clash for the BMF belt?

Back in November, Dustin Poirier expressed his willingness for this showdown, by replying “Last Dance” to an X post calling for the trilogy matchup. A month before that, Holloway fielded a question about this fight after his KO loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308.

“Ey, that’d be nice – The Diamond, sign me up bro,” Holloway said, “I love that guy; I got nothing but respect for the guy… But he is up 2-0 against my a–, and I don’t have the best luck against people who are 2-0 against me, so I guess I gotta try that one again.”

Max Holloway is no stranger to Dustin Poirier’s skills and endurance, for he carries the very same grit as his next potential opponent. These stalwarts have clashed twice already and with Poirier coming out as the victor each time, their third fight may just give us their most competitive versions yet.

Their first fight saw both competing at Featherweight where Poirier easily submitted Holloway. Fighting for the UFC Interim Lightweight Championship the second time around, Holloway and Poirier gave the fans a FOTY contender at UFC 236. Although this was the only crowning moment of Poirier’s UFC career, Max Holloway is a former UFC Featherweight Champion and he currently holds the UFC BMF Championship after beating Gaethje at UFC  300. While Poirier and Holloway have both lost their last fights to Makhachev and Topuria respectively, this potential third fight between the two could really change the whole dynamic in the division.

Poirier stands the chance to bring home a BMF title by beating Holloway and retiring. The UFC matchmakers won’t have to worry about him clamoring for a fourth title shot. Meanwhile, Holloway will look to reduce the gap in their series of fights by defending his BMF title against the only opponent other than Volkanovski to beat him on multiple occasions. Both have seen each other grow and achieve so much inside and outside of the octagon. So, it will be a trilogy that will definitely be like no other yet. Is it really happening? Is ‘The Diamond’ going to fight the ‘Blessed Express?’ What do you think?