Dustin Poirier hasn’t practiced grappling in over two weeks leading up to his title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302.
Poirier took on Makhachev in the main event of UFC 302 on Saturday, seeking his third shot at lightweight gold. While many initially expected Poirier to only have punching opportunities and be dominated on the ground, “The Diamond” delivered a surprising performance. Poirier gave his opponent a tough test, thwarting Makhachev’s takedown attempts multiple times throughout the bout. Makhachev ultimately submitted Poirier via Bravo choke in the final round, but the Dagestan struggled more than expected.
What makes Poirier’s performance even more incredible is that he hadn’t practiced wrestling in the two weeks leading up to fight day due to a rib injury, something Poirier’s longtime teammate at American Top Team, Yves Edwards, revealed, knowing that “The Diamond” probably wouldn’t have wanted it.
“His performance on Saturday night was very impressive to me,” Edwards said. MMA on SiriusXM“Nobody knows about this and he’s probably thinking: ‘Hey, why did you announce that?’ But we know Makhachev wasn’t 100 percent, and nobody goes into a fight at 100 percent. [Dustin] “I hurt my ribs two weeks before the fight and I hadn’t wrestled or grappled for about two, two-and-a-half weeks. To me, it was amazing what I did against that guy. If I’d been against anybody else, it wouldn’t matter, but against him, wrestling like that against a guy with hurt ribs, it was amazing.”
Edwards also revealed that Poirier’s ribs were still not fully healed on fight day, and Edwards said it’s not uncommon for top fighters to go into a bout with minor issues, but in Poirier’s case, what stood out to Edwards was how he performed against the level of his opponent.
“no [it wasn’t completely healed on fight night]“Of course it wasn’t like ‘I can’t fight,’ but it’s something you have to deal with somehow, but Makhachev has been fighting through injuries, like everyone does. [Justin] “Gaethje has battled through injuries, and as any fighter at the highest level does, it’s a combination of injuries and opponents that dictate how you perform. To me, that alone says a lot.”
