Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

'Ref is gonna be pulling me off,' Dustin Poirier paints terrifying picture of Islam Makhachev’s fate at UFC 302

Originally posted on FirstSportz
By Neial Nishant Bhuyan | Last updated 5/22/24

Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev will enter the octagon this June. Poirier is the clear underdog going into this fight against the lightweight champion. However, he has big plans for the fight and is confident about securing a knockout win for himself.

Dustin Poirier recently sat down for a conversation with Ben Fowlkes from Yahoo Sports. During their discussion, Poirier responded to Islam Makhachev’s prediction of their UFC 302 showdown.

I'm gonna knock him unconscious and the ref is gonna be pulling me off of him. Dustin Poirier on Yahoo Sports

What was Islam Makhachev’s prediction for UFC 302? The lightweight champion had predicted that he would try to take Poirier down. Meanwhile, Poirier would try to get him in a guillotine choke. Makhachev would then defend the guillotine choke and give him a couple of punches. Poirier would then give his back and Makhachev would finish the fight.

Dustin Poirier reacts to Islam Makhachev’s prediction for their fight:

“I’m gonna knock [Islam] unconcious, and the ref is gonna be pulling me off of him.”

@YahooSports #UFC #MMA #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/Wb1gbIqlR3
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 21, 2024

Everybody is saying that this could potentially be Poirier’s final title shot. The closest he came was being the interim lightweight champion. He will fight Makhachev at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It will be interesting to see whose prediction comes true in the octagon this June.

Islam Makhachev’s coach predicts UFC 302 outcome against Dustin Poirier

Islam Makhachev’s long-time coach Javier Mendez recently spoke about UFC 302. Although Makhachev wants to finish Poirier quickly, his coach has a totally different prediction for the fight. Mendez has Makhachev winning via unanimous decision at UFC 302 and for an interesting reason.

For me, no matter what it is, I always like going five rounds because I don’t like to be missing a beat... I always like going five round decision and by us dominating, and I always like doing it that way. Javier Mendez on Submission Radio

Mendez said that he would rather have his fighter go into the round expecting to fight the full 25 minutes than expecting an early stoppage. He reasoned that the fighter might lose focus if they step into the fight with a set expectation and things did not go the way they thought they would.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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