Islam Makhachev wasn’t expecting the fight Dustin Poirier brought to him at UFC 302. Before his dramatic last-round finish of ‘The Diamond’, the reigning light champion revealed that he made a promise, or a warning, to the former interim champion. Makhachev recently revealed the exchange he had with Poirier ahead of his UFC 311 title defense against Arman Tsarukyan.

During a recent conversation with former teammate and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, Islam Makhachev claimed to have had an interesting exchange of assessments with Dustin Poirier for their UFC 302 showdown back in June. As the Louisiana native predicted a finish that night, Makhachev warned him that he would either give up or go unconscious at the end of the fight, which eventually came to fruition. When Cormier claimed that he didn’t think Poirier was unconscious, the lightweight champion recommended that ‘DC’ watch the fight again.

“In the press conference, we have good discussion. He say, ‘I will make you sleep. I will knock you out.’ But I told him, ‘If you not tap, I will make you sleep,’ and I finished him in the last round,” Islam Makhachev told Daniel Cormier. “He tapped and sleep. He sleep, yes. Just watch [the fight back].”

Despite the fight going down in his favor, Islam Makhachev gave Dustin Poirier the credit where it was due. But now he faces an opponent that he has fought once before. Arman Tsarukyan is planning to secure his revenge and win the title at the same time. But what does Makhachev think about his Armenian counterpart’s chances of beating him? Well, he doesn’t believe it will be a big problem.

Islam Makhachev reveals thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan

Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protégé claims that he may not like rematches, but it always works as an advantage for him. Just like he finished Alexander Volkanovski easily at UFC 294 after a tough back-and-forth encounter at UFC 284, he believes he could do an easy job against Arman Tsarukya. Moreover, Makhachev also doesn’t seem too concerned with Tsarukyan’s wrestling but welcomes the challenge because of his legitimate contender status.

“He beat all these guys [Dariush and Oliveira] because they don’t have wrestling, but when someone have good wrestling skills, he always have trouble. With [Mateusz] Gamrot, with me,” Islam Makhachev added. “Honestly, I told all my fight career [that] I want fight with real contender… who deserve the title fight. He’s a tough guy, you know. That’s why he deserves [title shot].”

Islam Makhachev is now looking forward to surpassing his mentor as he has a chance to secure four successful defenses. After Arman Tsarukyan, he understands that Charles Oliveira could be up next, and although he doesn’t like rematches, he could accept that fight if that’s what the UFC and the fans want to see. It remains to be seen how things pan out after UFC 311.