Dustin Poirier is all set for what will be his third and final shot at an undisputed title. Having fallen short on two separate occasions, one would assume that clinching the title before his exit would be the perfect end to his story. That said, one of the biggest names in the business has let his thoughts be known on the same.
For those unaware, Dustin Poirier welcomes lightweight king Islam Makhachev to Newark, New Jersey in the main event of UFC 302. Put together at the eleventh hour after UFC 300, many had their complaints about Poirier getting the title shot after beating the now #13 ranked contender. However, now it looks like fans have since swayed in his favor.
Get ’em while you can!#UFC302 is ON SALE NOW 🚨
We’ll see you there: https://t.co/uXAg0DZ6db#VisitNJ | @Visit_NJ | @PruCenter pic.twitter.com/72jlF0uytc
— UFC (@ufc) April 19, 2024
Despite however unlikely a win for Dustin Poirier may seem, there are some who believe that he will defeat Islam Makhachev surpassing all odds. Although it could always happen, the possibility of it are so marginal, that even the biggest fans of the Louisiana native will feel like it’s a daunting ask. In spite of this, Poirier seemingly has the backing and complete backing of one of the sport’s finest.
Michael Bisping explains why Dustin Poirier will beat Islam Makhachev
For those unaware, Michael Bisping is the former UFC middleweight champion and currently a commentator and analyst. In his spare time, Bisping takes to his YouTube channel to speak about all the happenings in the combat sports world. Seeing that Islam Makhachev’s fight against Dustin Poirier is a big talking point right now, the Englishman naturally had something to say.
Unsurprisingly, ‘The Count’ is all onboard for the underdog story that Dustin Poirier could write into existence. In the past, we’ve seen bigger upsets than this one, and considering what Bisping had to say, it’s not too difficult to understand where he is coming from.
“On paper, you think this is an easy fight for Islam Makhachev, but when you dig a little deeper when you look at the stats, the resumes, the history of these two fighters, I’ll tell you what, it starts to paint a very very different picture.
“If you dig a little deeper when you look at their records, you can start to form an opinion on why potentially Dustin is gonna win this. Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier is gonna finish his career as the undisputed champion of the world.”
Speaking about how Dustin could potentially cause the biggest upset of the year so far, Michael Bisping brought up comparisons between how he finished his last fight and how Islam Makhachev suffered the only loss of his career:
“Dustin Poirier was almost finished multiple times in that (last) fight, what did he knock him out with, his best shot, a little right hook flatlined Benoit Saint-Denis. What knocked out Islam Makhachev, the one loss, a little right hook, from the southpaw stance, from Adriano Martins.”
An ambitious prediction to say the least, Bisping is surprisingly not the only one to predict a KO win in favor of Dustin Poirier. Notably, one of his most famed rivals Conor McGregor also predicted the same during a recent livestream. All things considered, taking a look at some other things, one could suggest that the 35-year-old is perfectly poised to win the undisputed title at the third time of asking.
Dustin Poirier has a lot of factors in his favor ahead of UFC 302
For the most part, Islam Makhachev is undoubtedly a heavy favorite to win this fight. On course to be level with some of the best lightweight champions of all time in terms of title defenses, Islam has shown little to no signs of any weaknesses or shortcomings. Instead, at 32 years old, he is seemingly getting better with each fight, showcasing a perfect evolution from the style made popular by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Ahead of the upcoming fight, Islam’s head coach and striking specialist, Magomedgadhzi Bagandov has suggested that his fighter is capable of outdoing Dustin Poirier on the feet. With such high praise from his coach and his recent successes, Islam will most certainly look to strike, and if he does, a tenured striker like Poirier could pick him apart:
Islam Makhachev’s coach says he “can outbox” Dustin Poirier at #UFC302 if he pleases 👀🥊 pic.twitter.com/WKB8v1iWli
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 26, 2024
“Islam doesn’t just hold his own against [Dustin]; if he doesn’t engage recklessly, Islam surpasses him.
Even if you put wrestling aside, in my opinion, Islam can outbox him in pure boxing and in Muay Thai. There are no aspects in which Islam lags behind.”
In addition to this, we have also seen the “Paulo Costa curse” and the fact that Dustin Poirier is 6-0 throughout his MMA career when fighting in June. Thus, with all these things on the table, one would think that the stars are aligning for something truly magical to happen on June 1. Whether it actually happens or not, we will need to tune in and find out for ourselves.