“Stylistically Not Interested”: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier Doesn’t Impress Dan Hooker

UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier will be hoping for his third time to be the charm. ‘The Diamond,’ who previously fell short against the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira, is arguably the most talented fighter to have never tasted UFC gold. Nevertheless, he will get another chance to earn the 155-pound title at the upcoming UFC 302, even though the match-up does not excite Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker has been on the sidelines for a few months now. ‘The Hangman’ last fought in July 2023 and has since been enjoying some time off. Recently, he sat down for a conversation with ‘The AllStar’ where he shared his opinion on several issues in the MMA landscape. The host even asked Hooker for his thoughts on the upcoming title fight between Makhachev and Poirier, to which he said,

“Stylistically, not that interested. Obviously, my eggs are in the Poirier basket. If we’re talking about who deserves to win a UFC title, Dustin Poirier is pretty much in my eyes the front guy at that queue. To see him do it, and defy the odds, would mean a lot. That is a guy that has stuck at it longer than anyone else could be bothered. That will probably be the most rewarding title we have seen in history.”

The fellow lightweight fighter went on to add that he would love to secure a fight at the PPV event after UFC 302. In fact, returning on a Conor McGregor card would be massive since it is destined to be the biggest UFC event of the year. In the meantime, Hooker’s assessment of the Poirier vs Makhachev fight has left many curious for more details.

A closer look at Dustin Poirier vs Islam Makhachev

Dan Hooker’s assessment of the situation is not far from the truth. Dustin Poirier was dominated by Khabib Nurmagomedov for three rounds until he eventually got the submission win. For most fans as well as pundits, Islam Makhachev is almost as good as Nurmagomedov in the wrestling and grappling department, while being a vastly better striker.

5.) Khabib vs the Poirier guillotine

Dustin locked in a seemingly DEEP guillotine against Khabib, it looked like we were in for a HUGE upset.

However Nurmagomedov remained calm, escaped the choke and finished Dustin shortly after. pic.twitter.com/sD637wcfrC

— Kenny Okoye (@TruthfulUfcFan) April 17, 2024

Hence, while this fight leans heavily towards Makhachev on paper, it remains to be seen if Dustin Poirier has improved his takedown defense and ground game in the five years since his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.