UFC News: Dustin Poirier “Smokes” Islam Makhachev in Terms of UFC Records & Legacy, Declares UFC Legend

UFC 302 might be the last time that the MMA world sees one of the most entertaining fighters inside the octagon. Dustin Poirier is all set to fight Islam Makhachev as the main card in what can be probably his last shot to the title. ‘The Diamond’ always lived up to his name in the octagon and surprised everyone with his amazing performance not only in the WEC but also in 145 lbs and finally in the UFC lightweight category. Despite being one of the legendary fighters of the promotion and boasting a record of 30-8-0, Poirier will most likely enter the event as many are backing Islam Makhachev to defend his title for the third consecutive time.

Contrary to popular opinion, a former middleweight champion thinks that the 35-year-old has a strong hold in the UFC in terms of records and legacy as compared to Makhachev.

Dustin Poirier is ahead of Islam Makhachev in terms of experience

Speaking on the ‘Believe You Me’ podcast, the veteran UFC fighter Michael Bisping claimed, “When you look at the record of Dustin Poirier and you compare it to Islam Makhachev’s, Dustin’s record smokes Islam’s.” He cleared the fact that he was not trying to be disrespectful towards Makhachev as he has fought against some of the good fighters like Alexander Volkanovski, Charles Oliveira, and Bobby Green. However, the list of Makhachev’s opponents did not sound that impressive to Bisping.

Reflecting on some of the iconic fights of Poirier, the former champion reckoned, “When you look at Poirier, I mean, it’s insane. Max Holloway multiple times. Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Conor McGregor three times, Jim Miller, Dan Hooker, Oliveira, [Michael] Chandler, Gaethje again, Benoit Saint-Denis. In terms of experience, he’s fought the tougher guys. I think that’s fair to say. Now, competition in common, Islam beat Charles Oliveira, whereas Dustin lost.”

However, he also pointed out that both the opponents had fought Charles Oliveira and Makhachev had won while Poirier lost. The Dagestani fighter scored a win over Oliveira during UFC 280 via submission in a much-celebrated lightweight bout. However, the 35-year-old ended up on the losing side against ‘Do Bronx’ at UFC 269.

Meanwhile, this could pretty well be the last fight for ‘The Diamond’ as he has already hinted at his retirement, which distressed many fans.

Dustin Poirier might retire after UFC 302

Dustin Poirier is one of the most sought-after fighters, especially for Dana White. Though he almost lost all motivation to continue further following his fight against Justin Gaethje on July 29th, the 35-year-old bounced back after winning against Benoit-Saint Denis at UFC 299.

Now he has another chance at gold by booking of fight with Islam Makhachev. However, it still seems that Poirier is pretty determined to retire from his conversations with TMZ Sports. He revealed, “It’s just where I’m at in life and how long I’ve been fighting. I don’t think I will climb that ladder again. You know, I want to get it done this time.”

Poirier did not disclose whether he was going to retire, but the probability of him stepping back from the octagon after this fight is more than possible. What are your thoughts about the UFC 302 bout? Drop your predictions in the comments below.