American mixed martial arts fighter Dustin Poirier compared the strengths of the current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhacheva and old belt holder Khabib Nurmagomedova .
Poirier and Makhachev will fight for the UFC lightweight belt at UFC 302 on June 1 in Newark. For the Russian, this fight will be the third defense of the title in the under 70.3 kg category.
“I think Islam’s submission in terms of jiu-jitsu is a little more universal than Khabib’s. Khabib had a few chokes that he pulled off very well, but Islam puts himself in what you might call a bad position by going for the armbar. He may be losing ground, but he thinks his wrestling skills will allow him to regain it. His striking technique is better than Khabib’s,” Poirier said on the MMAFightingonSBN YouTube channel.
Makhachev, 32, won the lightweight belt in October 2022 and made two successful defenses against Australian Alexander Volkanovski. Poirier has 30 wins and eight losses. Poirier has previously fought for the UFC lightweight belt twice, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020 and to Charles Oliveira in December 2021.
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I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.