- Khabib Nurmagomedov backs Islam Makhachev to stop Dustin Poirier within three rounds at UFC 302
- “The Eagle” is not taking “The Diamond” lightly
Khabib Nurmagomedov sees Islam Makhachev systematically following their fight plan and hopefully finish Dustin Poirier within three rounds at UFC 302.
Khabib predicts Islam will stop Dustin in Round 2 or 3
Speaking on his YouTube channel, “The Eagle” recognized Poirier’s caliber as an elite fighter. However, Nurmagomedov is very confident that they have prepared a solid plan to finish “The Diamond” and he believes Makhachev could pull it off in Round 2 or 3.
“Many people underestimate Dustin Poirier,” Nurmagomedov said. “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.”
“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,” he predicted.
A lot of respect
Nurmagomedov submitted Poirier in their epic title fight at UFC 242. To this day, the former UFC lightweight champion still respects “The Diamond.” In fact, Nurmagomedov pointed out that they are not overlooking Poirier and his accomplishments.
“Dustin Poirier 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,” Nurmagomedov said.
“We have great respect for Dustin, but on June 1, he is our opponent,” he added.
On the other hand, Poirier also has an early prediction on his title fight with Makhachev. As per “The Diamond,” he would knock Makhachev out so bad that the referee would have to pull him out of him.
UFC 302 is set to take place this weekend at Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey.
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