Dustin Poirier proved yet again that he is one of the very best lightweights in the world with his UFC 299 victory over the dangerous Benoit Saint-Denis, who was the betting favorite going into the bout, and for good reason.
On paper, ‘BSD’ had all of the advantages over Poirier- recent form, age, athleticism, height, reach, and the cumulative damage they had taken over their respective fight careers. However, with this victory, the New Orleans native has proved his critics wrong and gotten into the title mix after his recent loss against Justin Gaethje. Meanwhile, UFC commentator Michael Bisping thinks that Saint-Denis would have learned a lot from this fight.
Michael Bisping thinks ‘BSD’ was too erratic
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Former UFC champion and YouTuber Michael Bisping reacted to Poirier’s win and felt that while the first round had been horrible for Poirier, the former interim champion had the mental wherewithal and experience to weather the storm.
“I was watching it thinking there’s still three minutes left in round one and Dustin Poirier has been beaten to a pulp but he was still standing. He was still fighting, and more importantly, he was still thinking,” he told fans.
Bisping felt that Poirier’s ability to stay calm and collected despite being under constant pressure from the former French Special Forces operative was the difference between the two men. The Englishman said that Saint-Denis was defensively irresponsible and overall too wild and erratic for his own good and felt that the BJJ black belt would take away many important lessons from this defeat.
“You’ve got to think, you’ve got to slow it down in your mind and you got to look at the threat that’s coming. You got to keep your hands up, you got to tuck your chin, you got to stop the takedowns, you got to land some shots,” he said.
“But you’ve got to be cool, calm, and collected. You’ve got to be composed in there and that’s what paid off for Dustin Poirier. When he was taken down, he stayed calm. When he had his back taken, he was calm. Even on the feet, under pressure, eating knees to the face, he stayed calm. He did all the right things and when the time was right for him to finish and get the revenge, f**k me, what a right hand,” Bisping added.
Meanwhile, as mentioned before, Dustin Poirier seems like he’s on the express train to a title shot soon as current champion Islam Makhachev’s manager seems to have offered The ‘Diamond’ a chance at lightweight gold in June.
Makhachev manager offers Dustin Poirier title shot in June
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After Dustin Poirier’s spectacular second-round knockout victory over Benoit Saint-Denis, Makahchev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz commended ‘Diamond’ in a tweet and wrote that Makhachev would be willing to fight him in June.
Poirier proceeded to call out Makhachev in a tweet, writing “Islam in June 😤“. Poirier, who was in a sort of a no-man’s land after losing two of his last three fights going into UFC 299 and was facing serious questions around retirement, has made a dramatic comeback to the top of the UFC’s lightweight division. And fans may yet get to see Poirier become undisputed champion after a decade of fighting the best lightweights in the world.
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Would you like to see Dustin Poirier take home the undisputed belt before calling in the curtains on a storied career?
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