He came close with a guillotine choke against Khabib Nurmagomedov during his first title shot five years ago, and would’ve felt even closer before succumbing to defeat the same way – a round earlier – against Charles Oliveira in 2021. Now, Dustin Poirier’s final chance to rewrite legacy comes against Khabib’s prized pupil, with the man himself set to be in the corner this weekend.
Poirier: 25 minutes to finish the story
Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Dustin Poirier [4]
UFC lightweight title, headlines UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey
Main card begins at 3am Sunday BST, main event ringwalks after 5am
WELL, this is it. Arman Tsarukyan rejected the call on relatively short-notice for an Islam Makhachev rematch five years after their original meeting on his promotional debut, having beaten former champion Charles Oliveira in their title eliminator.
Justin Gaethje is rightly taking some extended time off and won’t return until 2025 after a brutal last-second knockout defeat at UFC 300 by Max Holloway and so the spotlight finds itself on Dustin Poirier once more, perhaps for a final time, as he prepares for the third and last championship opportunity to seize 155lb gold.
It could’ve been oh so different, had he not waded through the fire created by Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 in March, but that defiance typifies who he is as a fighter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ciOQjock_g&pp=ygUPZHVzdGluIHBvaXJpZXIg
It’s why his head coach, American Top Team chief Mike Brown, declared him the most stressful fighter to corner by a wide margin when asked by CBS Sports.
Poirier’s fan-friendly style draws you in and gets your heart pumping, whatever the outcome, but doesn’t exactly exude confidence nor assurity the job will be complete.
Rewind back to the end of 2021, licking his wounds after a third-round submission defeat by Oliveira, and you might remember Khabib sharing his view that Poirier’s fire was waning – something every fighter experiences at some stage in their career.
His seven-year-old daughter Parker briefly joined him during an ESPN interview with Megan Olivi, the latter seamlessly highlighting the importance of her presence given we – as media and fans alike – have seen her grow up. Her dad isn’t far off calling it a day, but that decision will be one solely down to him and depend on many things.
Makhachev might play it cool and be quietly confident, but knows how important this is for an opponent with little to lose – having often fallen short at the final hurdle.
The first round will be key to this particular story, both keen to establish control but Poirier must maintain his composure whether they’re exchanging strikes at range, jostling for position on the ground or anything besides. That’d go a long way to boosting his chances of sustained success in a matchup few expect him to prevail.
UFC 302 card, is as follows
Main card
Lightweight: Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Dustin Poirier [4]
Middleweight: Sean Strickland [1] vs. Paulo Costa [7]
Middleweight: Kevin Holland [15, welter] vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Welterweight: Niko Price vs. Alex Morono
Welterweight: Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Prelims
Middleweight: Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida [7] vs. Alexander Romanov [13]
Lightweight: Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
Welterweight: Philip Rowe vs. Jake Matthews
Early prelims
Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
Women’s Bantamweight: Ailin Perez vs. Joselyne Edwards
Catchweight (130lbs): Mitch Raposo vs. Andre Lima
Picture source: Getty Images
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