Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo had something interesting to say about the upcoming UFC 302 main event. Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier are finally having a showdown this June. As such, he predicted how the fight would play out.
Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman recently sat down for a conversation on their Pound 4 Pound podcast. During their discussion, they brought up the upcoming UFC 302 main event between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier. Cejudo didn’t give Poirier any chance to win the bout.
I see complete domination from Islam. I can see Islam stopping him within… I don’t see Dustin get into championship belts and I like Dustin, this isn’t a knock on him.
Henry Cejudo via Pound 4 Pound
Cejudo called back to Islam, stating his reason for picking this fight with Poirier. The lightweight champion had said that he wanted to be busy, and Dustin Poirier was the best available option at the time. Cejudo saw confidence in Makhachev’s words. Additionally, the lightweight champion has the backup of the former undefeated lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
‘Triple C’ believes that Makhachev would follow the blueprint laid down by Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ had already fought and defeated Poirier at UFC 242, five years ago. All this led Henry Cejudo to believe that Dustin Poirier would likely not reach the championship rounds.
Kamaru Usman does not agree with Henry Cejudo on UFC 302
Kamaru Usman was the former UFC welterweight champion. He has a different opinion to that of Henry Cejudo. According to Usman, Dustin Poirier’s experience can lend him the upper hand in this upcoming fight at UFC 302.
Dustin Poirier contemplating retirement after Islam Makhachev fight (Image via IMAGO)During their discussion on the ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast, Usman pointed out that Poirier works well with southpaw opponents. The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ brought the examples of Poirier’s last couple of fights to argue his point.
Poirier fought Conor McGregor, both southpaws, and we saw what he did to Conor. Dustin Poirier just fought Benoit Saint-Denis, and we saw what he did to him.
Kamaru Usman via Pound 4 Pound podcast
This could very well be Dustin Poirier’s final shot at the UFC title. The former interim champion is confident he will secure the belt this time. They will fight this June at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Only time will tell who predicted the matchup correctly between Usman and Cejudo.
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