Coach: Dustin Poirier Will ‘Propel To Another Level’ Versus Khabib

Dustin Poirier’s coach thinks he will propel to another level for his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Poirier shocked the world when he defeated Max Holloway via unanimous decision to become the new interim lightweight champion at UFC 236 earlier this month.

It means “The Diamond” has now set up a date with the undefeated Nurmagomedov, likely to take place in September. Despite upsetting the odds against Holloway, Poirier is an even bigger underdog against Nurmagomedov. Many are justifiably predicting the undefeated “Eagle” to win.

That, however, is no problem for American Top Team head coach Mike Brown. He claims training for “unbeatable” fighters is easier than the usual preparation.

“Dustin knows what he’s capable of, and all these guys are dangerous, they’re all very good fighters, so it’s better to put yourself in there against the guy everybody thinks is unbeatable,” Brown told MMA Fighting.

“Only good things can happen. Dustin is 100 percent capable, and he’s going to win that fight.”

Absolute Prime

Poirier has significantly improved in the six fights since his last defeat to Michael Johnson back in 2016.

He will only get better now after defeating one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world in Holloway according to Brown.

“Dustin is such a talented guy, super-skilled mentally, physically and technically, and I believe he’s in his absolute prime,” Brown added. “He could have won the title a couple of years ago, now he’s a different animal.

“I’m guessing, because this happens a lot, winning this title against Max is going to propel him to another level. He thought he was the best in the world, or maybe he knew he was the best in the world, but now he has that title label on him and the confidence will be much higher in him. That’s important.”