Dustin Poirier attends his UFC 236 press conference after winning the interim lightweight championship.
Dustin Poirier believes he will stop Khabib Nurmagomedov to ‘make history’
Dustin Poirier has a hard task ahead of him. In the main event of UFC 242, the interim lightweight champion will take on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed belt.
Not only has the Russian looked unbeatable, but he has only lost one round in his entire career. However, Poirier doesn’t care about any of that as he is just focused on himself. And, he believes he will finish Nurmagomedov.
“I keep going back and forth,” Poirier said to MMA Junkie. “I feel like I can submit Khabib. But, I feel like I’m going to stop him. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I’m either going to knock him out or I’m going to submit him. I’m going to finish Khabib Nurmagomedov.”
To finish Khabib Nurmagomedov will be no easy task for Dustin Poirier. The Russian’s wrestling has been too much for every opponent he has faced, yet the ATT-product doesn’t care about it. Rather, he isn’t even worried about Khabib’s wrestling.
“Of course, it’s a huge danger,” Poirier said. “I don’t want this guy to get on top of me and start pulling away with rounds. We only have five of them. If you let a guy lay on you for three, you need a finish. That’s not what I’m trying to do in there.”
“I’m not worried about his takedowns so much. I need to hurt this guy. That’s a huge part of this training camp. Putting myself in good positions to win the rounds and win the fight. Staying off the fence. Getting up off the ground. But, at the same time, I need to do what I do.”
In the end, if Dustin Poirier can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov he knows it would be history and cement his legacy.
“I have the opportunity to make history and do something that’s never been done,” Poirier concluded. “I’m embracing that … I’m just excited that I put myself in this position and that I have an opportunity to show the world how great I am on the biggest scale possible and unify these belts. Make history – that’s what this is about.”
