Islam Makhachev is all set to make his return to the Octagon within a week’s time as he looks to continue his quest of becoming the most dominant lightweight champion. In a bid to stay active, Makhachev is looking to make up for lost time during Ramadan, hoping to get a couple of title defenses under his belt for the year.
For those unaware, Islam Makhachev will be taking on Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 302. Live out of the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the fight will mark Islam’s third title defense, bringing him level with the likes of Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn, Benson Henderson, and of course, his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov. As such it is no doubt set up to be a historic occasion and one that cannot be missed.
Get ’em while you can!#UFC302 is ON SALE NOW 🚨
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— UFC (@ufc) April 19, 2024
Having done his training camp in Dagestan and then in Newark, Islam Makhachev is leaving no stone unturned for this fight. As such, he has also been preparing alongside Bellator Lightweight Champion Usman Nurmagomedov and UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad. However, as always, the main input for everything comes from Khabib, who has been in Islam’s corner since his UFC debut.
Islam Makhachev reveals how Khabib has prepared the game plan to beat Dustin Poirier
All things considered, it is only natural for Khabib Nurmagomedov to be involved in the preparation for this matchup. Having spent more than three rounds and over 10 minutes inside the cage with Dustin Poirier, the former champ is one of the world’s leading authorities on how to beat him. As such, Khabib has been constantly involved in Islam’s camp, in Dagestan, before joining up with him in New Jersey.
Over the course of Islam’s career, Khabib has been the voice of wisdom and the 32 has already paid the price once for not listening to him. Although it is unknown whether Khabib will be present in his corner during the fight, his wise counsel before the fight along with the plan he has put together, should be enough to see Makhachev put away Poirier with relative ease.
Thus, Islam Makhachev has also spoken about the same:
“When Khabib was preparing for him, we trained together, and I was already involved in the discussion of the fight preparation plan against Dustin.”
“I don’t think that the preparation and plan will differ much because we know Dustin’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Lastly, the man himself, Khabib Nurmagomedov also adds, “We have a clearly developed plan for the fight and I believe Islam will follow it.”
According to Khabib, the game plan from him will see Islam Makhachev likely finish the fight in Rounds 2 and 3. Seeing that he was able to wear down Poirier in the first two rounds himself, ‘The Eagle’ applied the final squeeze in the third round which pretty much wrapped up the fight. That said, the Louisiana native has probably looked back at that fight and rectified mistakes on his end as well.
Islam Makhachev is not a fan of the brand-new UFC gloves
For the most part, UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey will also be the first time that the new official UFC fight gloves will be in action. Notably, most fighters on the card will sport the gunmetal variants while Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier will be wearing the gold, championship versions of the same. As such, it further adds to the excitement for the event, seeing that the new gloves have been a hot topic in the community.
Ahead of UFC 302, the fans have been keen to find out whether the gloves truly live up to their promise and provide any improvement on their previous iterations. As such, all athletes fighting on June 1 have already received their shipment of the new gloves, to train and break into.
However, as it turns out, Islam Makhachev remains very doubtful and on the fence about the new gloves:
“The (new gloves) are very stiff. They will cause more cuts, as the previous UFC gloves were softer. These are stiffer.
They don’t let you fully open your hand just to make sure the fingers don’t extend straight forward. But overall, they are pretty much the same.
I am going to frame them next to the belt, as the first golden gloves in the UFC.”
Whilst the gloves seem stiffer to Islam, it could possibly be a result of them not being broken into just yet. As for the glove itself, the design team has insisted that the seams have been moved into the gloves rather than outside, in order to prevent lacerations. Either way, it is only a matter of time before they are put to use and Islam Makhachev is already keen to frame his