By The Numbers: Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje were made for one another.

The longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contenders will vie for the vacant BMF title when their rematch headlines UFC 291 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Poirier—who defeated Gaethje by fourth-round technical knockout at UFC on Fox 29 in April 2018—enters the Octagon with victories in four of his past five outings. The American Top Team mainstay last competed on Nov. 12, when he dispatched three-time Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC 281 pairing. Gaethje, meanwhile, has won six of his past eight bouts. The former World Series of Fighting titleholder last fought at UFC 286, where he was awarded a majority decision over Rafael Fiziev on March 18.

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.