UFC 302 is only a few hours away and the anticipation for the fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier has kept the entire MMA world at high entropy. Poirier is going to give the LW championship belt one final shot against Makhachev. On the co-main domain, Paulo Costa is set to land against Sean Strickland. Needless to say, the final two fights are going to be bangers. 

Even the rest of the fights on the main card have the potential to excite the fanbase to a great extent. But today, let’s talk about the fighters’ nicknames. Let’s find out what their monikers mean.

The story behind Dustin Poirier, Sean Strickland, Paulo Costa & others’ monikers

Let’s begin the journey with the challenger to the lightweight championship belt for UFC 302. Dustin Poirier is dubbed as ‘The Diamond’. It indicates the Lafayette native’s toughness as a fighter. Winning against some of the toughest opponents is no easy feat. To add to it, ‘The Diamond’ also reflects his nickname in his life outside the Octagon. Together with his wife, Poirier runs ‘The Good Fight Foundation’ charity and has been awarded the ‘Forrest Griffin Community Award’ by the UFC. 

Paulo Costa was initially nicknamed ‘Borrachinha’, but has now changed his moniker to ‘The Eraser’. The Brazilian mixed martial artist’s elder brother, Carlos, was the one who named him ‘Borrachinha’. It meant ‘Little Rubber Man’ in Portuguese. Back in the day, Costa was extremely flexible, and that’s what earned him the nickname. However, Costa’s coach, Eric Albarracin, proposed that he use a new name ‘The Eraser’.

It was indeed inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action-packed movie, ‘Eraser’. Taking up the new name, the Brazilian opined, “The Eraser is the best translation; it’s like, ‘I will erase you, Johny Hendricks.’” Sean Strickland is the one whom people call ‘Tarzan’. The Disney character extracted awe from the kids with his long hair, ability to climb on top of trees, and brawling like a gorilla. And Strickland was just that back in 2009. But the former middleweight champion was not a fan of the moniker.

A couple of years ago, talking to ‘The Schmo’, Strickland claimed that ‘Tarzan’ was not a name that aligned too well with his personality. He said, “It doesn’t fit me, ya know? I’ve always liked ‘Hate’ but then again, that has some bad connotations, but I feel like it suits me. I’m kind of an angry motherf***er.” 

Surprisingly, some fighters have two nicknames. One such man is Kevin Holland. The first and most popular moniker that he has is ‘Trailblazer’, which means an innovator. With his fluidity and fast striking capabilities, it’s no doubt he’s named the ‘Trailblazer’. But Dana White likes to call him ‘Big Mouth’ because of Holland’s trash-talking skills.

Talking about his monikers, the fighter said, “I think it’s cool. You don’t choose your nicknames they’re granted to you. When I was younger, ‘Trailblazer’ was granted to me, so I ran with it. ‘Big Mouth’ was granted to me by Dana White, you run with it.” But some fighters do not have a nickname. And one of them is none other than the current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev. But why doesn’t the Dagestani fighter have a nickname? 

Islam Makhachev reveals why he doesn’t have a nickname

Many have wondered the reason to why Makhachev doesn’t have a nickname. But during the UFC 302 pre-fight press conference, Makhachev gave out the reason why he went without a nickname. In the press conference, the LW champ said, “No, I don’t want [one], because everybody has [one]. But this guy, someone has to be without a nickname. I am that guy, who doesn’t have [a] nickname.” 

Even his coach, Javier Mendez, tried to give him a moniker but failed. In an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s talk show, Mendez recounted that one instance. But Makhachev said, “No, coach, my name is Islam.” And the AKA founder and coach had no choice but to go with it. It seems like Makhachev is out to build his own legacy with his own name. 

Regardless of what their monikers are, the fighters are sure to demonstrate an entertaining fight at UFC 302. Without a doubt, the anticipation is quite high. Are you excited about UFC 302? Let us know in the comments below.