Dustin Poirier favored to be UFC lightweight champion by end of 2021

Fresh off of a KO win over Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier is favored by the oddsmakers to hold the UFC lightweight title by the end of 2021.

Poirier picked up the biggest win of his career in the main event of UFC 257 when he picked up a brilliant second-round knockout win over McGregor. With UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov likely headed into retirement, there will soon be a vacant title that will be fought for. Poirier seems likely to be one half of that fight, but his opponent is still a mystery, with potential opponents including Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, and Nate Diaz, amongst others. It’s very fair to say that, right now, the lightweight division is wide open, but with Poirier a slight step ahead.

Following UFC 257, BetOnline posted the odds for who will be the UFC lightweight champion by the end of the year, and Poirier is at the top of the list. Full odds below:

UFC Lightweight Champion By End Of 2021 Odds

Dustin Poirier +200
Michael Chandler +300
Charles Oliveira +400
Khabib Nurmagomedov +450
Conor McGregor +800
Justin Gaethje +1200
Tony Ferguson +2500
Nate Diaz +5000

Poirier is favored as a +200 betting underdog to hold the UFC lightweight title by the end of the year. Coming off the big win over McGregor and with Nurmagomedov likely hanging up his gloves soon, it’s fair to say that he’s the best lightweight in the world right now. So it’s not too surprising to see him favored more than the others.

Having said that, there is still plenty of value on some of the other fighters on this list. At +400 odds, there seems to be some value on Charles Oliveira and his eight-fight win streak. Another fighter on the list that stands out is Justin Gaethje. Remember, Gaethje is technically the No. 1 contender in the UFC lightweight division. So at +1200 odds, there could be some good value on him here. Of course, considering Poirier knocked Gaethje out, you can see why he’s so low on this list.

Do you think Dustin Poirier will be the UFC lightweight champion by the end of 2021, or do you think someone else will hold the title?