Dustin Poirier likes the way he matches up with Justin Gaethje at UFC on FOX 29, which he believes will elevate him into lightweight title contention.

Poirier (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) has been trending toward a title shot in recent years. He said beating Gaethje (18-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the April 14 headliner, which airs on FOX from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., should put him closer than ever.

Getting a win over the former WSOF champion is no easy task, though. Gaethje enters the event off a third-round knockout loss to Eddie Alvarez at UFC 218 in December. It was his first career setback in 19 fights, and Poirier admits there’s a challenge in navigating how a fighter will come back from that.

“We don’t know how he’s going to react after his first loss,” Poirier told MMAjunkie. “When he’s knocking everybody out and making everybody quit and beating everybody up, he’s the same guy every fight. He comes in and is brawling and being crazy and taking big risks and leaving it all out there. We’ll see what happens.

“We do know he has great wrestling and after his first loss he could be changing his mind about his fighting style. He could be maturing and thinking, ‘I won’t be doing this long if I keep fighting like this.’ But we’re preparing for anything.”

Gaethje, No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, is known for his brutal fights where he displays little regard for his own safety. No. 10-ranked Poirier has a track record of fighting with similar traits but in lesser dosages.

Poirier said recklessness has led to several of his career losses, but as his experience in the sport has added up, he’s tightened up his shortcomings. He said Gaethje could come off his first loss with some of the same takeaways. However, his gut tells him “The Highlight” won’t be able to resist trying to keep up his reputation.

“I’m here to be the sniper and have a long career,” Poirier said. “In a perfect world I go in there and make him miss and put him away and make it look clean and cement him and be the matador. But in real life, I have that dog that comes out of me. No matter what I do and how technical I try to be, I know deep down inside it’s just waiting and waiting. So it’s really a battle within myself. I believe this fight can be as hard or as easy as I make it. I’m the superior skilled fighter in this fight.

“Maybe he is a little more hesitant and he’s working on defense more than anything, but I think down to his core he’s a scrapper, and he’s a warrior and a gladiator, and he’s going to want to put on a show every time. I believe he’s true to that, and I respect that.”

Poirier said he holds Gaethje in the highest regard, but for his own ambitions in the 155-pound division, he knows the UFC on FOX 29 headliner is a must-win. “The Diamond” is coming off a victory over ex-champ Anthony Pettis at UFC Fight Night 120 in November, and he said following that up with a win against Gaethje should prove exactly where he stands.

“I believe (Gaethje is) one of the mentally toughest guys there is, and I believe fighting is probably 70 percent mental, and he breaks guys.” Poirier said. “He beats guys that are better than him and he just makes them not want to fight anymore. A guy like Justin is dangerous from bell to bell for five rounds every fight because he believes in himself. And I’m a fan, and I respect that, but this is where you run into somebody who’s better than you and believes in himself.”

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