Dustin Poirier showed the heart of a warrior in his loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. Poirer was a big underdog going into the fight, with the MMA community finding similarities between Poirier and Rocky Balboa. The head coach of Makhachev, Javier Mendez, indeed thought so.
Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture, mainly for the film’s embodiment of ‘The American Dream.’ Sylvester Stallone brought Rocky to life, and the film and the character still hold value worldwide. Interestingly, Javier Mendez found similarities between the movie and the UFC 302 main event.
Dustin [Poirier] did exactly like Rocky Balboa versus Apollo Creed in their first fight. Rocky was the underdog, nobody gave him a chance, the odds were against him. This was kind of the same thing. Then, all of a sudden, there was brilliance on Dustin’s part, like in Rocky. Same type of scenario.
Javier Mendez via Javier Mendez Podcast
The UFC 302 main event was one of the best lightweight title fights in a long time. Even though everybody felt Makhachev was winning the fight, fight fans felt Poirier had a chance every second of the MMA fight. Balboa lost the boxing fight against Apollo Creed in Rocky but won the hearts of the fans. Similar was the case for Poirier at UFC 302.
Funnily enough, Stallone predicted Poirier would defeat Conor McGregor at UFC 264, which happened, but it was not how Poirier wanted to. McGregor lost the fight as he broke his leg at the end of the first round. Against Makhachev, Poirier knew he had to channel his inner Rocky.
Dustin Poirier speaks about being a real-life Rocky
Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev stole the show at UFC 302. After lackluster fights throughout the fight card, Poirier and Makhachev battled it out in the main event, winning the Fight of the Night bonus. Makhachev also won the Performance of the Night bonus.
Dustin Poirier is a real-life Rocky Balboa (Image via: IMAGO)The MMA community wanted Poirier to have a fairytale ending at UFC 302, particularly as he had contemplated retirement. Even WWE champion Cody Rhodes cut a terrific promo for Poirier, urging him to finish his story. Poirier also spoke of it in his interview on the MMA Hour.
I understand the threat in front of me on June 1st: the pound-for-pound number one guy, Khabib’s Nurmagomedov pupil…I understand the challenge against me, but man, what a way to finish a story…if I pull this off…It’s like a real-life Rocky story, but I’m that guy to do it.
Dustin Poirier via The MMA Hour
Despite the loss, Poirier is still not sure of retirement. Alexander Volkanovski had called him out for a fight later this year. Moreover, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov also felt Poirier shouldn’t retire, particularly after an impressive showing against the pound-for-pound king.
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