Dustin Poirier‘s quest for undisputed UFC gold has remained a winding road filled with close calls and hard-earned lessons. He now gears up for his third lightweight title shot. This time, he will go against the formidable Islam Makhachev. ‘Diamond’ believes a previous setback has finally provided the blueprint to capture that elusive strap.
In the lead-up to the high-stakes showdown, Poirier’s head coach, Mike Brown, made a bold claim. He revealed that Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s dominant victory over his pupil at UFC 242 revealed the defensive weaknesses in Poirier’s skillset. He revealed that they’ve since patched those up.
Khabib showed us where we had some holes. We’ve worked on it and those holes are patched. We are working on anti-wrestling and getting back to our feet, that’s no secret. Dustin will put him away.
Mike Brown via UFC Countdown
Islam Makhachev‘s grappling-heavy style is heavily influenced by his mentor Nurmagomedov. Brown’s comments carry extra significance since Poirier has already had the taste of the elite Dagestani wrestling. Shutting down Makhachev’s relentless wrestling appeared to be priority number one for Team Poirier.
Poirier and coach Mike Brown on how fighting Khabib prepped them for Makhachev:
Poirier: “I got to have a bit of understanding of the pressure, strength, and style of wrestling that those guys have.”
Mike Brown: “Khabib showed us where we had some holes. We’ve worked on it and… pic.twitter.com/gde2HFQ3po
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 26, 2024
Dustin Poirier himself has been candid about the potential finality of this championship opportunity. He has two previous failed title bids. The Louisiana native understood his window was closing. He had recently stated that this might be the last time fans may see him in the Octagon. However, he would like to end his storied career with him finally getting the lightweight belt.
Daniel Cormier gives his take on Dustin Poirier thinking about retirement
Dustin Poirier’s high-stakes showdown with Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 draws near. However, a voice of experience is urging caution. That voice belongs to Daniel Cormier, a fellow Louisiana native and former two-division UFC champion. He knows firsthand the perils of entertaining retirement thoughts mid-career.
Daniel Cormier doesn’t like Dustin Poirier’s retirement mentality (via Sports Illustrated/ MMA Fighting)Cormier talked about Dustin Poirier’s potential retirement in a recent YouTube video. He didn’t mince words about Poirier’s musings on hanging up his gloves. The analyst stated bluntly that he didn’t feel that Poirier was in the right state of mind thinking this.
I hate that [Dustin Poirier mentioned retirement]… It could be almost over and he recognizes that. I did it myself… The life after the fight, when you look at it from the inside and you’re going through those training camps and everything’s so tough, the other side seems very nice… If you have any desire to fight, you gotta be so in the fight that there is no thought of what comes next.
Daniel Cormier via his YouTube channel
Cormier’s disdain for Poirier’s retirement rhetoric stems from his own unfortunate swan song against Stipe Miocic at UFC 252. Back then, the former champ overtly marketed the trilogy bout as his final fight, a decision he now regrets. The Hall of Famer felt he should have retired a few years earlier than his official trilogy fight.
