- Dustin Poirier shockingly admitted Khabib Nurmagomedov was better than him
- “The Diamond” said it’s hard to digest the fact that he lost to Justin Gaethje when he knew he was the better fighter
Fresh off a devastating BMF title fight loss at UFC 291, Dustin Poirier opened up about how he was feeling heading into the fight and his thoughts on Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Khabib is up there but Justin Isn’t
Speaking to Ariel Helwani in The MMA Hour, “The Diamond” got brutally honest about how he sees two of his toughest past opponents, Nurmagomedov and Gaethje. Since failing to dethrone Nurmagomedov at UFC 242, Poirier only lost to Gaethje and Charles Oliveira.
Looking back, Poirier admitted that “The Eagle” was hands down superior to him but “The Highlight” is not and it makes his UFC 291 defeat even more difficult to accept.
“Khabib was better than me. I lost Saturday to somebody who I think I’m better than,” Poirier declared.
“Yeah. Yeah. [it made it harder to digest] I was away from home for nine weeks in training camp,” he continued. “I dieted 11 weeks, sacrificed so much, was really focused, man, was really, really focused, and felt great, the best I’ve ever felt. Honestly, the best I’ve ever felt.”
Dustin Poirier: “Khabib was better than me. I lost Saturday to somebody I think I’m better than." #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/kRJv9QPzeB pic.twitter.com/wb0bJXPuHr
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 31, 2023
It can be recalled that Nurmagomedov submitted Poirier in Round 3, while Gaethje only needed less than two rounds knock “The Diamond” out. Still, Poirier thinks he is better than Gaethje and he only got caught with a vicious head kick.
Moving on even if the future is Unclear
In his post-fight press conference, Poirier pointed out that he didn’t like the fact that he got knocked out but it’s part of the fight game. Admittedly, the former UFC lightweight interim champ is unsure about what lies ahead of him as he struggles to find motivation at this point in his career. Hence, even though a third fight with Gaethje could make sense, Poirier said he’s really not interested in the idea.
“If I win like a man, I gotta be able to lose like a man,” Poirier reflected.
“We’ll see man we’re one and one, we knocked each other out. We’ll see,” he added. “Honestly, no [I’m not excited about another fight with Gaethje or any top lightweight] even this one like before this one, when they offered me Beneil, I was just like, ‘Ah, I’m not that excited about it.’”
As it stands, Poirier is now below Gaethje in the official rankings. He currently sits at the No. 3 spot.
