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Dustin Poirier dismissed Islam Makhachev’s punch power after the UFC Lightweight Champion showed off his skills.
The Diamond faces Makhachev at UFC 302 on June 1, hoping to win his first world title. He faces a tough task against the champion, who has won 13 in a row since his loss to Adriano Martins at UFC 192 in 2015. Makhachev is also coming off a second-round stoppage win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 last year. Makhachev told Poirier that it would be an ‘easy’ fight, downplaying the American’s skills. He showed off his power in the following clip. Makhachev hits the punch machine with his left hand, scoring 972. While those machines are not fully reflective of power, it did go viral, causing Poirier to respond.
Makhachev vs. Poirier
June 1 going down @ufc @MAKHACHEVMMA UFC 302 pic.twitter.com/1q3gnHD5Zw
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) May 8, 2024
Poirier has plenty to prove coming into this fight. He bounced back from his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 to stop Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299. He has lost twice in world title fights, coming up short against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. Poirier has admitted that retirement is on his mind. He revealed that a win may be enough for him to walk away from the sport. A loss could do the same, depending on how much damage he takes.
“It could be [my last fight], I haven’t made an official decision yet. But, it could be.” Dustin Poirier stated in the interview when asked about retiring after his UFC 302 fight against Islam Makhachev. “I’ve said this over and over again, I still have a lot of tread left on the tires. I can beat these young guys, I just did it [against Saint-Denis]… It’s just like, how much do I want to give to this sport? Because you don’t ride for free. I don’t want to make any decisions just based on the way I’m feeling [right now]. I need to go out there and fight, like I said in Miami,” Poirier stated
Gable Stevenson’ Future
While Poirier could retire, ex-Olympian and WWE wrestler Gable Steveson is looking to fight in MMA. He is one of the best wrestlers America has produced. He won gold in the 2020 Olympics, choosing to sign with WWE in 2021. [And] he struggled to adapt, fighting only once before, getting released this month. Now, according to Ariel Helwani, the wrestler is training at Kill Cliff FC, an MMA gym. There is also the potential that Gable signs with the NFL, leaving him with plenty to consider moving forward.
Ariel Helwani reads a statement from Gable Steveson's manager.
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 8, 2024
Says multiple NFL teams have reached out to Gable Steveson and that he also has been training at Kill Cliff FC.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/BnDJFk95z0
“Gable Steveson is very grateful for the opportunities he had with WWE and would like to thank everybody in the organization who helped him get there. He would also like to thank all the fans for supporting him on his professional wrestling journey. Now, Gable is ready to resume competing against elite-level competition and looks forward to sharing big news with you all very soon,” Gable Steveson’s statement
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