"I think Justin stops him."

That's Dustin Poirier's bold prediction for the UFC interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett.

Poirier, a former UFC interim lightweight champion himself, is going against the oddsmakers by picking Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) to beat Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) this Saturday in the UFC 324 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gaethje is around +450 on most sportsbooks to win by knockout or TKO and understandably so. Pimblett hasn't lost in the UFC and has never been knocked out in his 26-fight professional career.

Regardless of the odds and stats, Poirier has a strong feeling Gaethje gets it done.

"I just think (Gaethje) been in those 25-minute fights. He's been in those dog fights before," Poirier said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." I think Paddy is going to have a tough time stopping him on the feet, and I don't think Paddy is going to get him down, so he's going to have to fight with him. Unless Paddy can keep it disciplined for 25 minutes, keep his distance, picks his shots, Justin is just a bigger puncher, and he'll put himself in harms way to land one of those shots. It's tough to stay away from for 25 minutes."

Although Pimblett is on an impressive nine-fight winning streak and coming off a TKO win over former Bellator champion Michael Chandler, Poirier is not fully sold.

"What number loss was that for Chandler in a row?" Poirier said. "I think Chandler might've showed up for a paycheck. I don't know."

Poirier added, "He's definitely a legit fighter, a good fighter, but I haven't seen him beat … if he beats Justin, I'm a believer then."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 324: Dustin Poirier reveals Gaethje vs. Pimblett prediction