Islam Makhachev is going to defend his lightweight title against veteran Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. He recently shared a picture on Instagram with his coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, hinting at an ongoing training session. Khabib Nurmagomedov has been assisting Islam during his UFC fights, but the eagle stepped away from coaching ahead of UFC 284.
Following the cryptic post, it is unclear if Khabib will be at UFC 302, but fans want him to accompany Islam. Islam Makhachev was eager to fight Dustin after Justin Gaethje defeated Max Holloway and Arman Tsarukyan defeated Charles Oliviera at UFC 300. UFC CEO Dana White announced the title bout after Dustin Poirier finished Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299. However, this time he will face the undisputed champion, who is coming off back-to-back victories over Alexander Volkanovski.
Makhachev posed with Khabib Nurmagomedov and PFL star Islam Mamedov in his Instagram post with the caption “Road to New Jersey.” This indicates that the lightweight UFC champion is already training to defeat Dustin Poirier.
‘The Daimond’ never held the undisputed lightweight belt in his entire career. But he defeated Max Holloway to become the interim champion in 2019. Dustin Poirier’s record in UFC championship fights is not at all impressive. In 2019, Khabib defeated Dustin Porier with a brutal choke and Charles Oliviera submitted Poirier back in 2021.
Islam Makhachev reveals game plan to defeat Dustin Poirier at UFC 302
Islam Makhachev is going to put his title on the line for the first time in his UFC career. However, he will get the support of Khabib, who has already defeated Dustin for the title. Besides that, Islam Makhachev has only suffered one loss throughout his UFC career. During a recent interview, Makhachev revealed the perfect game plan to register a flawless victory over Poirier. Here is what Islam had to say ahead of the UFC 302 title bout:
“He will try to give me guillotine, and I will take his back and choke him.”
Prior to being officially booked vs. Dustin Poirier at #UFC302, champ Islam Makhachev made a simple prediction. 😅
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 21, 2024
"He will try to give me guillotine, and I will take his back and choke him."
(via @MikeBohn) pic.twitter.com/iAhW1DEnI8
Dustin Poirer is infamously known for his guillotine choke attempts during all of his fights. But Islam is one of the most skilled wrestlers in the UFC right now and he will look to take advantage of this peculiar trait.
It would be interesting to see if Khabib will attend UFC 302 and how a title fight between Makhachev and Porier pans out. With Khabib by his side, Islam should be invincible but Poirier has a tendency to pull off the impossible.
