Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier with a head kick in the second round to win the BMF title at UFC 291 on Saturday night. The fight was a rematch of their 2018 bout, which Poirier won by TKO in the fourth round.

Gaethje came out aggressive in the first round, landing leg kicks and punches to Poirier’s body. Poirier tried to counter with punches, but Gaethje was able to avoid most of them. The second round was more of the same, with Gaethje continuing to land leg kicks and punches. Poirier started to slow down, and Gaethje capitalized with a head kick that knocked him out.

The win was Gaethje’s second in a row, and it puts him back in the mix for a title shot at lightweight. He is currently ranked third in the division, behind Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.

What’s next for Justin Gaethje?

Gaethje has a number of potential matchups that would be exciting for fans. One possibility is a rematch with Oliveira, who beat Gaethje by submission in 2021 to retain his lightweight championship. Another possibility is a fight with Makhachev, who is currently the lightweight champion but will be facing off against Charles Oliveira for a second time.

Gaethje could also face Conor McGregor, who is currently ranked seventh in the lightweight division. McGregor has been calling out Gaethje for a fight, and it would be a huge money fight. Let’s take a look at the potential matchups for Justin Gaethje.

Gaethje vs. Oliveira

Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira are two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC, and a second fight between these two would sure be a barnburner. Gaethje came up short in his first title bid when he faced off of against the former lightweight champion. He wasn’t his normal self it looked like that fight as he was knocked down and eventually finished by Oliveira in the first round of the lightweight title fight.

Since that loss, Gaethje got two huge wins against dangerous opposition like Rafael Fiziev and the head kick that was heard around the world when he knocked out Dustin Poirier to redeem himself after his 2018 loss. He has looked like a brand new fighter since that Oliveira fight so a rematch between these two would be quite interesting.

Gaethje vs. Makhachev

Justin Gaethje claims to prove that Islam Makhachev is no Khabib Nurmagomedov and if Islam Makhachev beats Charles Oliveira once again at UFC 294 he may get his opportunity. Makhachev has been a dominant force since stepping foot inside the octagon and Gaethje could be one of his most dangerous adversaries to date, especially in terms of striking as we’ve seen from him time and time again.

Makhachev has never had to deal with the calf kicks, the pressure, and the power that Gaethje possesses. On the flip side, the only person that had a dominant ground game that Gaethje had to deal with was the longtime training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov. Gaethje would be looking to right that wrong, get that one back, and capture the undisputed lightweight championship in the process.

Gaethje vs. McGregor

This would be the biggest draw of them all if Justin Gaethje were to take on Conor McGregor. McGregor has been going back and forth with Gaethje for quite some time now in typical McGregor fashion over Twitter. Gaethje has talked about not wanting to fight someone who is on steroids but he could possibly change his tune for the right price.

The whole steroid allegation is due to McGregor still not being in the USADA testing pool as he’s been out of commission for years stemming from his injury and surgery from his leg break against Dustin Poirier. It is yet to be seen when McGregor will be making his return to the octagon or whether or not he will even re-enter the USADA testing pool. We all know that McGregor could get cleared to fight even without the 6-month stint with USADA prior because of his status with the UFC.

What we do know is that this fight between Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje would sell a ton of tickets and would make both of these two men some of the richest fighters in the UFC, even though McGregor already is.

There is not much else for Gaethje at this point considering he is at the top of the lightweight division, so it’s either title shot against either Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira or a money fight with one of the biggest stars in the sport Conor McGregor.