Everybody wanted Cody Rhodes to defeat Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania XL. Rhodes won and became the champion. Similar is the case now with Dustin Poirier as he will face Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. Poirier is a sizeable underdog, but many think he could cause an upset. As expected, Poirier’s head coach, Mike Brown, is one of them.
Brown is one of the best coaches in the American Top Team. The former WEC featherweight champion is now the head coach of several high-profile MMA fighters like Alexandre Pantoja, Mateusz Gamrot, and Renato Moicano, to name a few. Despite not winning an undisputed title, Poirier remains Brown’s favorite pupil. Moreover, he recently revealed why Poirier would be the champion at UFC 302.
This will just be the cherry on top of an unbelievable career—one of the best careers the sport has seen. Nobody’s more deserving, and nobody has paid their dues more than Dustin Poirier. It’s his time.
Mike Brown via UFC Countdown
Brown stated they have learned a lot from Poirier’s fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. They have been working anti-wrestling, intent on keeping the fight against Makhachev on the feet. Nurmagomedov had recently predicted a third-round finish for Makhachev, but Poirier has stated he would knock the pound-for-pound king out cold.
Charles Oliveira, a former opponent of Makhachev and Poirier, also predicted the champion to retain the title. However, Jamahal Hill, the former light heavyweight champion, has picked Poirier to spring an upset, aligning with Mike Brown’s prediction.
Mike Brown was featured on Dustin Poirier’s debut UFC event
Mike Brown is now one of the best coaching minds in MMA. Before becoming a coach, he was a featherweight champion in WEC and even defeated Urijah Faber via knockout. Brown lost the title to Jose Aldo, who became one of the best featherweight fighters in history.
Dustin Poirier and Mike Brown (Image via: X)Dustin Poirier’s promotional debut was on UFC 125 in the preliminary card against then-number-one contender Josh Grispi. Incidentally, Brown was also on the card in the early prelims against Diego Nunes. However, Poirier and Brown had contrasting results in the fight. Poirier won via unanimous decision, whereas Brown lost via split decision.
At the time, Poireir trained at the Gladiators Academy in his hometown. Soon after, he joined the American Top Team. Brown would fight a couple more years before retirement and became a full-time coach. Now, Poirier is contemplating retirement, irrespective of the result of his UFC 302 fight.
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