Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje were made for one another.
As Poirier and Gaethje make final preparations for their forthcoming showdown at 155 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
34: Years of age for Poirier, who was born on Jan. 19, 1989 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
8: Poirier wins by submission, accounting for 28% of his career total (29). His methods of choice: three armbars, two brabo chokes, one triangle armbar, one body triangle and one rear-naked choke. Poirier owns 14 other wins by knockout or technical knockout (48%) and seven more by decision (24%).
59: Significant strikes by which Poirier outlanded Gaethje in their first encounter. He connected with 174 such strikes while absorbing 115 of them in return.
80: Rounds started by Poirier as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on nine different occasions and carries a 7-2 record in those bouts.
168: Combined victories between the seven opponents—Charles Oliveira, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Michael Johnson, Conor McGregor, Cub Swanson, Chan Sung Jung and Danny Castillo—who have defeated Poirier. They sport a cumulative .724 winning percentage at 168-64.
34: Years of age for Gaethje, who was born in Safford, Arizona, on Nov. 14, 1988.
19: Gaethje victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 79% of his career total (24). His list of UFC victims: Johnson, Tony Ferguson, Donald Cerrone, Edson Barboza and James Vick. Gaethje holds one other victory by submission (4%)—he tapped Sam Young with a rear-naked choke at a Rage in the Cage show in 2012—and four more by decision (17%).
50: Leg kicks landed by Gaethje in his first meeting with Poirier. He was 50-for-57 with one of his most trusted weapons, good for an 88% connect rate.
13: Consecutive calendar years in which Gaethje has fought at least once. In addition to his 1-0 mark in 2023, he went 3-0 in 2011, 4-0 in 2012, 3-0 in 2013, 3-0 in 2014, 2-0 in 2015, 2-0 in 2016, 1-1 in 2017, 1-1 in 2018, 2-0 in 2019, 1-1 in 2020, 1-0 in 2021 and 0-1 in 2022.
.836: Cumulative winning percentage between the four opponents—Poirier, Oliveira, Nurmagomedov and Eddie Alvarez—who have beaten Gaethje. They boast a combined record of 122-24.