UFC lightweight fighters Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier are set to lock horns in their rematch at UFC 291. It is going to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 29th. The duo’s first meeting inside the octagon was way back in 2018. In that fight, Poirier emerged victorious.
However, fans are of the opinion that this time around, Justin Gaethje may have the upper hand because of the location of the fight. As Justin Gaethje lives and trains in Denver, Colorado which is located at a higher altitude than Utah. The higher altitude has always been known to cause endurance problems for fighters. The only way to eliminate this problem is to get accustomed to the conditions here.
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The last UFC event that happened in Utah was UFC 278. The main event for the night was the welterweight title clash between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards. UFC fighter Luke Rockhold was up against Paulo Costa in the co-main event.
The endurance of the fighters was definitely being tested and we could see both the fighters gassed out by the final round. Having lost the fight, Rockhold was of the opinion that the elevation definitely had a big role to play in the clash.
“I think my preparation, I was just hitting walls in training, different injures, tearing cartilage with like, an oblique thing. I think the altitude definitely played in,” said Luke Rockhold to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
So, Dustin Poirier might want to add some endurance training in his preparation for the fight if he has not already.
Dustin Poirier says Justin Gaethje makes him nervous
Dustin Poirier has recently said that the rematch against Justin Gaethje makes him nervous. He also added that there is an emotion attached to a fight like that and the same happened with his clash with Michael Chandler too. The lightweight further expressed that the nervousness also brings in motivation.
Both the experienced fighters will be high on confidence as they are coming from victories. Poirier defeated Michael Chandler at UFC 281 with a famous rear naked choke. Gaethje too secured a victory against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 by a unanimous decision.
Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier are going to compete for the BMF title at UFC 291 on July 29th. Both are veterans of the lightweight division of the game and have established their prominence in the company. It will be interesting to see who gets the crown of being the “baddest motherf**ker“.