Khabib Nurmagomedov expects Islam Makhachev to defend his light-weight title in opposition to Dustin Poirier in convincing style at UFC 302.
Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC), a retired former 155-pound titleholder and a major coach for Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC), has been diligently getting ready his athlete to face a earlier opponent of his personal in Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) on Saturday at Prudential Middle in Newark, N.J. (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Poirier comes into the combat as a sizeable underdog in opposition to Makhachev, who’s No. 2 within the newest USA TODAY Sports activities/MMA Junkie pound-for-pound rankings. His chances are high being dismissed by many, however given his previous expertise with “The Diamond,” Nurmagomedov isn’t amongst that group.
“Many individuals underestimate Dustin Poirier,” Nurmagomedov stated on his YouTube channel. “I personally fought him, spent three rounds and over 10 minutes with him, and I’ve a very good sense of his strengths and weaknesses. We’re working exhausting on these elements.
“Dustin Poirier could be very skilled. He’s been in lots of battles already. Sure, he has misplaced, however he additionally has many victories within the UFC, greater than 22 or 23 wins. Utilizing our slang, he’s a seasoned warrior. You possibly can’t take him flippantly.”
Nurmagomedov defeated Poirier by third-round submission after they fought at UFC 242 in September 2019. That was Poirier’s first likelihood at an undisputed UFC title, and he misplaced the identical means in his second bid at a belt in opposition to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 in December 2021.
Poirier, 35, has brazenly admitted to being conscious that is virtually definitely his last likelihood at an undisputed championship. That probably means he’s going to place all of it on the road contained in the cage, so Makhachev, 32, should be ultra-cautious. His crew understands this, and Nurmagomedov stated that as long as Makhachev follows the ready technique from coaching camp, he’ll go away with a 3rd consecutive protection of his belt.
“We have now nice respect for Dustin, however on June 1, he’s our opponent,” Nurmagomedov stated. “We have now a clearly developed plan for the combat, and I consider Islam will comply with it. I actually hope that Islam will end him off within the second or third spherical.”
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