There are very few fighters who have had a tougher journey to the UFC gold than the former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier.
After mixed results at featherweight division, Dustin Poirier moved up to lightweight and fought some of the very best in the business. He fought the former lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez in a grueling battle to secure one of the biggest victories of his career. He out tough the most violent man in MMA, Justin Gaethje.
Then he stepped into the big league to fight arguably the greatest featherweight champion of all time, Max Holloway for the interim lightweight title.
Khabib Nurmagomedov made it look easy
However, all that led to the toughest test of Poirier’s career, a showdown for the undisputed title with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Going into the fight, many fans believed that Poirier was hungrier and more driven than the lightweight champion. Many picked Poirier to cause the greatest upset in the history of mixed martial arts. But, the Russian wrecking machine, Nurmagomedov once again proved why he is multiple levels above when compared to the rest of the lightweights.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov absolutely dominated Dustin Poirier before he got the submission victory. There were a few moments where Nurmagomedov seemed to be in trouble against Poirier. But the guillotine attempt from Dustin Poirier stood out from that fight as he came very close to finish arguably the greatest grappler in MMA. Even Khabib admitted after the fight that the submission by Poirier was very close.
Despite the close submission attempt, Poirier was completely outmatched by Khabib on the ground. Khabib took Poirier down pretty easily and Poirier spent most of his time trying to get Khabib off him instead of trying to secure a position on the ground.
In a recent interview with ScoreMMA, Dustin Poirier talked about his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov and what he learned from the fight. Poirier explained that at a level where you fight against some of the best fighters one mistake can cost you the fight. And that’s what happened in his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Dustin Poirier will be looking to make a statement against Dan Hooker
Poirier has lost before and has risen back up with emphatic wins. And this time he takes on a rising contender at the lightweight division, Dan Hooker on his octagon return.
However, this will be a completely different matchup compared to the fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Hooker is not a threat on the ground and is likely to stand and trade with Poirier. While it’s easy to imagine Poirier outclassing Hooker in a standup battle, the improvement Dan hooker has shown in his last two fights can present a strong argument against that notion. But it’s needless to say that the Diamon will have a great chance to shine again.