Dustin Poirier On Khabib: Everybody Can Be Beat

Dustin Poirier reached the pinnacle of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career when he beat Max Holloway to win the interim lightweight belt at April 13’s UFC 236 from Atlanta, Georgia.

But the most difficult part of his journey to MMA royalty will be his next challenge. ”The Diamond’ will reportedly move on to a title unification bout with undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. The fight is tentatively set for this September. Abu Dhabi has been rumored as the location for the pivotal match-up.

Poirier touched on the potential match-up during today’s edition of ‘Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show’ (via Chamatkar Sandhu). He noted that while going to Abu Dhabi would be a challenge, he fully embraces it:

“That’s a stretch. I don’t have a whole lot to say because I’m the interim champ. Going overseas, it’s like everything else in my life, it’s a challenge, but I embrace it.”

If and when he does venture to Abu Dhabi for the fight, he would face a man who has never lost. With Khabib ranked as the most dangerous grappler in MMA right now, Poirier acknowledged ‘The Eagle’ had no glaring holes in his game. That said, he believes everybody can lose. In order to accomplish his ultimate goal, he’ll have to create holes that aren’t necessarily there:

“I don’t see obvious, huge, glaring holes, but everybody can be beat. I’ll make holes that aren’t there. Nobody is perfect.”

That anticipated fight is still yet to become official. In the meantime, Poirier is still basking in the afterglow of his UFC 236 win, and he has an idea of why fans found it to be such an amazing event:

“People just appreciated that night of fights and the sportsmanship.”

Indeed they did, and rightfully so. Poirier’s performance against Holloway was one for the ages and won’t be forgotten anytime soon. His upcoming match with Khabib promises to be a different beast altogether, however.