There might not be anyone in combat sports more qualified to analyze the upcoming UFC 302 main event between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier than Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The retired former undisputed lightweight champion has trained with and coached Makhachev throughout his career, including in his preparation for his third 155-pound title defence which takes place Saturday night in Newark, N.J., when Makhachev attempts to fell one of Nurmagomedov’s former opponents.
Nurmagomedov’s penultimate UFC appearance was when he submitted Poirier with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC 242 main event bout in September of 2019.
Poirier was on a six-fight unbeaten streak at the time and fresh off winning an interim lightweight title against Max Holloway.
“Many people underestimate Dustin Poirier,” Nurmagomedov said in a training camp video blog ahead of UFC 302 fight week. “I personally fought him, spent three rounds and over 10 minutes with him, and I have a good sense of his strengths and weaknesses. We are working hard on these aspects.”
Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts with a 29-0 pro record. Makhachev has one blemish on his record — a 2015 first-round knockout loss to Adriano Martins in his second UFC appearance — but has since amassed 13 consecutive victories and claimed the No. 1 spot on the UFC’s pound-for-pound list, plus the belt Nurmagomedov wore from 2018 to 2020 before hanging up his gloves.
Although Makhachev has his own unique strengths – such as a more diverse striking arsenal compared to Nurmagomedov – his skill set is not entirely dissimilar to his teammate and former champ.
“Dustin is very experienced. He’s been in many battles already,” Nurmagomedov said. “Yes, he has lost, but he also has many victories in the UFC. … Using our slang, he is a seasoned warrior. You can’t take him lightly. We have great respect for Dustin, but on June 1, he is our opponent. 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.”
Makhachev said in the video blog he thinks Poirier, win or lose, is always a challenge for everyone in the division but did specifically mention he thinks reviewing the footage of Nurmagomedov’s fight with Poirier will be beneficial for them to incorporate when crafting a game plan.
“When Khabib was preparing for him, we trained together and I was already involved in the discussion of the fight preparation plan against Dustin,” Makhachev explained. “I don’t think the preparation and plan for the fight will differ much because we know Dustin’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Makhachev and Poirier have three common UFC opponents: Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker, Bobby Green. Both finished Green with strikes in the opening round; Makhachev submitted Hooker in half a round while Poirier won after 25 hard minutes with the tough New Zealander; Poirier lost via submission to Oliveira in their title fight when Oliveira was champ and Makhachev submitted Oliveira to begin his current title reign.