Islam
Makhachev believes he has the blueprint for a quick night at
the office against Dustin
Poirier at
UFC 302.
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Makhachev will look to defend his lightweight strap against Poirier
in the main event at UFC 302 this weekend at Prudential Center in
Newark, New Jersey. This will be the third title shot for Poirier,
whose first gold bid was foiled by a third-round submission loss to
Makhachev’s teammate and mentor Khabib
Nurmagomedov at UFC
242 in 2019. Like Nurmagomedov, Makhachev also doesn’t think
Poirier has made any significant improvements since that loss.
Makhachev also believes that both Poirier and his coach Mike
Thomas Brown don’t think “The Diamond” can win at UFC 302.
Makhachev acknowledges Poirier’s elite striking, but considers
himself the worst stylistic matchup for the Louisiana native.
“Honestly, he’s the same you know. Maybe [he’s aged,]” the
lightweight champ said during UFC 302 media day. “And he doesn’t believe he can beat
me, his coach doesn’t believe he can beat me. And I know I can make
this fight easy…Honestly, my style, it’s the worst style for him.
That’s why he can beat some strikers; he is one of the best
strikers in this game. But we’re not strikers, we’re MMA fighters
and my skills [are] on a different level.”
p.m. ET on ESPN+
While the Dagestani brigade is notorious for its relentless
grappling game, some like Makhachev have shown impressive
developments in their stand-up skills. As their camp has been
recently emphasizing, Makhachev also claims that he can hold his
own in striking exchanges with Poirier. However, Makhachev also
notes that he can strictly resort to wrestling to make it an “easy”
fight if need be.
“Yeah, I can strike with him, but I told you guys, if I want to
make this fight easy, I know the way… Always when his opponent
pressures him, takes him down; he has the same problem always.”
Makhachev dethroned Charles
Oliveira via submission in 2022 and has since defended his
strap twice against former featherweight champ Alexander
Volkanovski, first via unanimous decision, followed by a head
kick knockout. Meanwhile, Poirier is coming off a second-round
knockout over surging French contender Benoit St.
Denis, that saw him bounce back from a head-kick knockout loss
against Justin
Gaethje.