UFC Legend Credits Dustin Poirier’s ‘Better’ Performance Against Islam Makhachev to Past Encounter with Khabib Nurmagomedov

Islam Makhachev took longer to finish Dustin Poirier than Khabib Nurmagomedov. Talking about this stat on the latest episode of his podcast, Daniel Cormier claimed that Poirier performed better than Makhachev since he had fought Nurmagomedov previously. Ben Askren, who joined Cormier on the show, also mirrored the commentator’s opinion.

Khabib vs. Poirier at UFC 242 ended with a submission victory in the third round for ‘The Eagle’. Likewise, the undefeated UFC champ was confident that Makhachev would finish the task even sooner.

However, the UFC 302 main event showcased why Poirier is nicknamed ‘The Diamond’. Despite the widespread narrative about him being weak against grapplers, Poirier nullified Makhachev’s submission attempts for four rounds before getting submitted in the fifth one.

Cormier credited Poirier’s success in defending Makhachev’s submission attempts for four rounds to the fact that he had already been with Khabib in the octagon.

The UFC world has often talked about these two Dagestanis having a somewhat similar fighting style. Cormier implied that Poirier benefitted from this, although he couldn’t take complete advantage. ‘DC’ said,

“I generally don’t like to put much into, ‘Well, he [Poirier] fought this guy [Khabib], who fights similar to this guy [Makhachev], so it’s gonna benefit him [Poirier]’. But after watching the fight [Poirier vs. Makhachev], I felt Dustin was better [against Makhachev] because he fought Khabib.”

The Louisiana native also talked about Poirier’s decision to retire, right after the end of UFC 302. Like scores of other fans, Cormier didn’t want ‘The Diamond’ to mark his exit this early. Instead, he proposed a plan for his friend to continue in the UFC.

Daniel Cormier wanted Dustin Poirier to go for big-money fights and elongate the gap between his fights

The prime Khamzat Chimaev may have wanted to fight every week, but Dustin Poirier can’t do the same at the age of 35. This is why Cormier advised him to take longer layoffs in between fights instead of declaring retirement.

The former UFC champ-champ took to his YouTube channel from the Prudential Center, right after the end of UFC 302, to talk about the route Poirier should take following his defeat.

Cormier also suggested that ‘The Diamond’ should make maximum use of his star power in the UFC to ask for better payouts.

Well, it’s quite apparent that Poirier might consider his old friend’s suggestions. ‘The Diamond’ is a fighter at heart, and he may not be able to keep himself away from the Octagon for too long.