“I Was Fighting One of the Best in the World” – Dustin Poirier Says This One Fight Helped Him Grow as a Fighter

Dustin Poirier is undoubtedly one of the best MMA fighters in the world. He is the number 1 ranked UFC lightweight and has defeated some of the toughest fighters in the world.

‘The Diamond’ is currently preparing to challenge for the UFC lightweight title. This will be his second time trying to win the belt. His first opportunity came back in 2019 when he took on Khabib Nurmagomedov. Poirier fought Max Holloway for the interim UFC lightweight title in April 2019 and defeated him via unanimous decision. This win set up a clash with the champion Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. Poirier held his own for three rounds but gave up his back in the third round and got submitted.

Talking about his what he learned from the fight, he said, “The growth and confidence since that fight. You know, I went into that fight confident. I was fighting one of the best in the world. Like I said a while ago, I knew anything could happen in any one of these fights. But growth is just learning from mistakes, slowing things down.”

“Trying to get up on the fence when Khabib had my back and giving up my neck when I had more rounds to go. Maybe losing the round compared to losing the fight. Should I have positioned myself better? Just been safe instead of, ‘I have to get up right now and put myself in harm’s way.’ Just trying to balance everything, man. There’s a lot of juggling act with all these things going on. Not just the technique, but the mindset and the time to take risks in the fight. I’m just trying to get better at learning, man,” he added.

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Dustin Poirier’s journey back to title contention

Dustin Poirier faced Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 242. He went into the fight on the back of a six-fight undefeated streak. ‘The Diamond’ beat some of the best fighters in the world, including Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje. Nurmagomedov had not faced a tough test inside the octagon and many expected Poirier to do just that. However, despite giving ‘The Eagle‘ some trouble, it wasn’t enough. The champion locked in a rear-naked choke on him in the third round and submitted him.

After the fight, Poirier broke down during the post-fight interview and took some time off. However, he came back stronger and since then is on a three-fight winning streak. In his first fight back, he took on Dan Hooker, in what was an instant classic. After which, he and Conor McGregor fought twice.

Dustin Poirier is booked to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 269. Poirier, according to most of the MMA community, deserved this title shot and will look to claim the belt, which he couldn’t against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

What did you think of the fight between Khabib and Poirier? Will Poirier be able to get his hands on the belt this time around? Let us know in the comments!

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