Khabib Joins Forces With Makhachev Against Poirier
Khabib Nurmagomedov will be in Islam Makhachev’s corner for his UFC Lightweight Title defence against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.
The clash takes place on June 1 as Makhachev makes the third defense of his title. He won the title after beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in 2022. The champion is coming off two consecutive wins over Alexander Volkanovski, as he now faces one of Khabib’s former opponents in Poirier.
Dustin lost a third-round submission in 2019 at UFC 242 after almost choking Khabib. Poirier then lost a title shot against Oliveira in 2021 at UFC 269, suffering another third-round submission loss. Those defeats show Poirier is not the best when it comes to taking the fight to the ground. Khabib has been training Islam, and having him in the corner may prove vital to getting another win.
Khabib And Islam
“Eagle has landed in Jersey City. He’s going to be in my corner. Honestly, I’m very happy because he’s one of the best corner, coach, brother, friend. That’s it,” Makhachev said
“Dustin is very experienced; he’s been in many battles already. Yes, he has lost, but he also has many victories in the UFC, more than 22 or 23 wins. Using our slang, he is a seasoned warrior. You can’t take him lightly. We have great respect for Dustin, but on June 1, he is our opponent. We have a clearly developed plan for the fight, and I believe Islam will follow it. I really hope that Islam will finish him off in the second or third round,” Nurmagomedov stated
On the same card, Sean Strickland expects a tough fight against Paulo Costa at UFC 302. Strickland aims to bounce back from his loss to Dricus Du Plessis. The defeat ended his reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion after winning the belt against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.
Costa is also coming off a loss, coming out second-best to Robert Whittaker. The winner could get a title shot. Much has been said in the build-up. Costa first accused Strickland of turning down the fight over not getting paid enough. Strickland then claimed Costa had not signed the contract despite both agreeing. That has set up the narrative for a big fight.
Strickland vs. Costa
“UFC 302, man, it’s going to be a bloodbath. I think me and Costa are going to go into deep water, it’s going to be a 25-minute war. [And] I think we are both going to be looking at each other in that third, fourth round thinking…we still got one more round.’ Mentally, as always, I’m ready to die for what I want and I think I will pick him apart.
“I want to fight him specifically because he’s a great fighter, he’s a great match, and he’s number one. This fight can lead me to the title again. I am more experienced now, I’ve reached the place that I wished before, as a man, and as an athlete. This is the time, this is it. At UFC 302, I will beat Sean by knockout,” Costa added
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