"That was a defense for Charles for sure" - Dustin Poirier on Charles Oliveira being stripped of the title before the UFC 274 fight against Justin Gaethje
![left to right: Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier {Image Courtesy: @ufc on Instagram and @UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship on YouTube]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/05/55778-16527797898748-1920.jpg?w=500)
Dustin Poirier views Charles Oliveira’s win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 as a successful title defense for the Brazilian, despite 'Do Bronx' missing weight by 0.5 pounds prior to the fight and being stripped of his belt.
During his recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Poirier gave his take on Oliveira's controversial weight miss. He highlighted that it was unfair to the former lightweight champion that his first-round submission victory over Gaethje wouldn't count as a defense of his title.
'The Diamond' told Ariel Helwani:
"I don’t know, bro. That’s tough. That’s a tough line to call… That doesn’t count as a [title] defense now. You know, that’s part of his legacy. He’s beating the best guys out, you know, every time. Now he can’t say he beat Gaethje in his hometown, in a title defense, because it’s not on paper."
He later added:
"That was a defense for Charles for sure."
Poirier compared the entire situation to the infamous Yves Edwards vs. Josh Thomson bout at UFC 49 back in 2004. Edwards delivered a highlight reel knockout to dispatch Thomson, cementing his status as the best lightweight in the world, despite the fact that the 155-pound title wasn't on the line.
Watch Dustin Poirier's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
Charles Oliveira is now the No.1 contender in the lightweight division. At the UFC 274 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White confirmed that the Brazilian will fight for the vacant title in his next bout.
Charles Oliveira reminisces about his "wars" with fellow top-ranked lightweights
Charles Oliveira is riding an astonishing 11-fight win streak. The Brazilian solidified his claim to a title shot with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Tony Ferguson back in 2020, before beating Michael Chandler via TKO at UFC 262 last year to win the belt.
In his first title defense, Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier to retain his title. At the recently concluded UFC 274 pay-per-view, he beat former interim champion Justin Gaethje. 'Do Bronx' took to Instagram to reminisce about his last four wins and wrote in the caption (translated via Google Translate):
"Wars and more war 🙏🙌👊"
Oliveira has already beaten some of the biggest names in the lightweight division. With regards to who he'll face for the vacant title, a number of names have been thrown around, including featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski, former foe Max Holloway, Dagestani lightweight Islam Makhachev and global superstar Conor McGregor.