Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier may be fighting in the octagon for the last time at UFC 302. And he’s brought it up about 3o times since the last new moon. So much so that UFC legend Daniel Cormier has called it out, comparing it to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s silent retirement.
DC believes nothing should distract a fighter’s mind from the fight. As a former champion, he knows what will be going through Poirier’s head.
Dustin Poirier does not want to climb the ladder again. He has done it so many times without being able to win the belt, that he has grown tired of it.
With UFC 302 probably being his last fight, Daniel Cormier brought up the Khabib Nurmagomedov comparisons. In his latest YouTube video, he spoke about how ‘The Eagle’ retired, without anyone knowing,
“I don’t like when athletes…put a timeline or a finishing point on a career..If you have any desire to fight, you gotta be so in the fight, that there is no thought of what’s coming next… I mean, Khabib walked away and nobody even knew.”
To Daniel Cormier’s credit, what he says makes sense. Khabib Nurmagomedov never spoke about retiring till after his fight.
DC believes that talking about retirement takes away from the fight itself. Dustin Poirier should be so obsessed with wanting to win the fight that even the thought of retiring should not cross his mind. Surely, Dustin is paying attention to his Louisiana brethren.
But it’s easier said than done, especially now that ‘The Eagle’ has joined Islam Makhachev for camp for the title fight at UFC 302. The former champion recently spoke about the game plan for Poirier, giving his prediction on when the fight will end.
Khabib Nurmagomedov predicts a 3rd round finish for Islam Makhachev
The UFC legend is in Newark training alongside the champion and in a recent video for his YouTube channel, spoke about the game plan for Dustin Poirier.
“We have a clearly developed plan for the fight and I believe Islam will follow it. I really hope that Islam will finish him off in the second or third round.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that if Islam Makhachev sticks to their game plan, he should be able to finish the fight within the third round. Of course, the earlier it is the better for the champion since Dustin Poirier has an excellent gas tank and has a knack of finishing fights in the championship rounds.
