Dustin Poirier Labels Islam Makhachev Superior to Khabib Nurmagomedov in Two Key MMA Skills

Has the student finally become better than the master? That’s the question that keeps popping up whenever Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are mentioned in the same sentence. Dustin Poirier, who has fought The Eagle and is on the way to fighting Makhachev, believes the latter edges out the undefeated champion by two key MMA skills.

Nurmagomedov and his father paved the way for the UFC Lightweight Champion. They trained alongside each other and ‘The Eagle’ even coached Makhachev. Many fans consider Khabib Nurmagomedov the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Their main argument is that he was undefeated and only lost 2 rounds in his whole career.

However, with Islam Makhachev securing the title as well, comparisons are but natural. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani for The MMA Hour, Dustin Poirier gave his opinion on the debate,

“I think his (Islam) submission game, Jiu-Jitsu wise, is a little more versatile than Khabib’s was….I think his striking’s better than Khabib’s yeah”

Dustin Poirier believes that the two main points of difference between the pair are their versatility in Jiu-Jitsu and their striking. ‘The Diamond’ believes Islam Makhachev is superior in both. And that’s not just one man’s opinion, it’s something fans have been noticing for some time now as well.

The champ has improved his striking skills, as evident in his last fight against Alexander Volksnovski. The biggest advantage for Makhachev is that he has time, to build his legacy and make it bigger than ‘The Eagle’s’ if he hasn’t already.

Meanwhile, Poirier is ready to finish his story, hinting at the fact that this may be his last fight if he ends up winning the world title.

Dustin Poirier talks about ‘finishing’ the story against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302

Dustin Poirier is not getting younger. Despite not showing any signs of slowing down, the 35-year-old has only so many matches left before he decides to hang up his gloves.

So, the UFC 302 fight will be huge for him, in what will be his third title fight. In the same interview with Ariel Helwani, he spoke about a fairytale ending against Islam Makhachev,

“I understand the threat in front of me on June 1st…But man, what a way to finish a story…If I pull this off..It’s like a real-life rocky story”

If he ends up losing against Islam Makhachev, it will be highly unlikely Dustin Poirier will get another shot at the title. He will already have had 3 shots at it, and father time isn’t on his side either.