Islam Makhachev Was Signed to Fight Benoit Saint Denis Before Dustin Poirier Turned Tables, Claims Manager

UFC 302 is just a few days away, and the fans are super excited about the event. One of the biggest attractions of the night is the title fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier. Both fighters are fresh off an impressive knockout victory from their previous fights, making the battle even more interesting.

Poirier got the opportunity after he defeated Benoît Saint-Denis at UFC 299. However, things would have been completely different if ‘God of War’ had won the fight. His manager recently shared the details in a recent post by Championship Rounds on X.

Benoit Saint-Denis suffered one of the most brutal knockouts at the hands of Dustin Poirier at UFC 299. The Frenchman entered the fight as the favorite with back-to-back victories. However, 35-year-old Poirier knocked him out, much to the surprise of many. His emphatic win has now earned him a title shot against the champion, much to the despair of BSD. According to Giom Peltier (manager of BSD), the Frenchman was all set to take on the Dagestani fighter if he had won the fight. Championship Rounds released his statement on X, which read, “Everything was already signed.” 

‘God of War’ is without a doubt one of the deadliest fighters in the promotion. Before his UFC 299 fight, the Frenchman finished most of his opponents. However, he will now have to wait before he gets a title shot next in his career. The fans are now waiting for the upcoming fight at UFC 302. Both Makhachev and Poirier have stepped up their preparations for the fight. However, Makhachev has a slight advantage with Khabib Nurmagomedov on his side. ‘The Eagle’ previously faced Poirier during his fighting days and, in a recent interview, shared his experiences.

Khabib Nurmagomedov warns his camp of potential Dustin Poirier threats.

Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport with a perfect record of 29-0. During his emphatic career, he faced ‘The Diamond’ once and won the fight. However, there were instances in the fight when the Dagestani fighter was on the back foot. This is what he exactly warned Islam about Makhachev before his UFC 302 fight and advised him not to be complacent. The former champion recently took to his YouTube channel to share his firsthand experience of facing ‘The Diamond’.

He said, “Many people underestimate Dustin Poirier. 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.” Makhachev has already made it clear that he respects his opponent and his striking. However, he is not concerned about his ‘Guillotine’ and has already devised a plan for it. The fight is evenly poised at the moment, with both fighters looking in sublime form. While many experts have picked the Dagestani as the favorite, one cannot underestimate the challenger.

Who do you think will come out on top? Let us know in the comments below.