Dustin Poirier performed admirably against the UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this past Saturday. Unfortunately for “The Diamond,” his story didn’t have its perfect ending.

You know what to expect with Poirier whenever he steps into the octagon. Louisiana’s finest delivers the entertainment and a dogfight no matter how tough the opponent. His matchup with the pound-for-pound No. 1-ranked Makhachev exemplified that once more as the two put on a Fight of the Night bonus winner before the fifth-round D’arce choke for the champion.

Many comparisons were made ahead of this recent undisputed title tilt with Poirier’s first against Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019. While arguably not identical, there was good reason for the comparisons thanks to the two champions’ relationship and styles helping craft the other’s. Ultimately, Poirier found more success and survived longer against Makhachev. However, according to his longtime friend and coach at American Top Team (ATT), Yves Edwards, Poirier’s final preparations were limited.

“The way he performed on Saturday night, that was super impressive to me,” Edwards said on MMA Today. “Nobody knows this and he probably is gonna be like, ‘Man, why’d you put that out there?’ But like, I know Makhachev was also not 100 percent, nobody goes into a fight 100 percent, but he hurt his ribs two weeks before the fight and hadn’t wrestled or grappled for two and a half weeks. I probably shouldn’t [say that], but to me it’s so impressive against that guy. Against somebody else, it wouldn’t matter. Against that guy, Islam, man, you wrestled like that against that guy with hurt ribs. I’m impressed.”

After Poirier’s second-round knockout of Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 in March, he revealed he also went into that fight with a rib injury. Edwards didn’t specify whether or not it was the same injury, but with the shorter turnaround time, there’s a possible correlation. Nonetheless, Poirier showed zero signs of a hindrance in physical health in either fight.

Makhachev struggled more than usual in his takedown attempts on Poirier, going five for 16. Poirier found most of his defensive success when he kept the fight in the center of the octagon, which his corner implored him to do several times between rounds.

Despite another Poirier title loss, the 35-year-old doesn’t appear to be slowing down or receding in talent after his 40th professional fight (30-9, 1 NC). Therefore, it will be interesting to see whether or not he hangs up the gloves as he’s strongly considered.

“That’s really damn good. I love it,” Edwards said of Poirier’s defensive wrestling. “No [the ribs weren’t healed by fight night]. It wasn’t like, ‘I can’t fight,’ but it’s something you kind of have to work around, right? Everybody that’s stepped into the octagon more than once, as many times as Dustin, there’s so many times that you’ve stepped in there with something you have to work around.

“For years, he had that hip surgery that he had to have but he fought for years [without it]. He didn’t have the flexibility in his hips that he has now after the surgery. But everybody does that. Makhachev’s fought with injuries, [Justin] Gaethje’s fought with injuries, everybody does this at the highest level. The injury and the opponent, those two things combined, and then the performance, man, for me, that says a lot.”

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LET’S WATCH

The MMA Hour.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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Par for the course.

Epic.

Walk on.

Matchmaking.

New gig.

Worth a shot.

Time is a flat circle.

Loudest/cleanest shot that didn’t visibly rock someone?

Nick pic.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Andre Petroski (10-4) vs. Josh Fremd (11-5); UFC Denver, July 13

FINAL THOUGHTS

I mean, what more can you say about Poirier that hasn’t already been said? Do the whole fantasy shape-shifter bit on him in any other division and he very likely would have claimed gold. His career timing at lightweight just came horribly.

Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

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