Dustin Poirier believes Islam Makhachev won’t have much trouble settling into a new weight class this weekend.
Former lightweight champion Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) is preparing to challenge welterweight titleholder Jack Della Maddalena (18-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the main event at UFC 322 this Saturday. Having held the 155-pound title for so long, Makhachev vacated his position at the top of that division earlier this year in pursuit of a historic achievement — capturing gold in two separate weight classes.
Poirier knows Makhachev better than most, having gone deep into the fifth round against the Dagestani at UFC 302 last year, and he believes Makhachev has everything he needs to make his mark at 170 pounds.
“A lot of times we think about a lightweight going up to welterweight: it’s a 15-pound weight difference,” Poirier told MMA Fighting. “But Islam is not a small man. He’s not short. I don’t know, maybe he’s 5’11”, and he’s big. He’s a big guy. It’s not like he’s having to put on years of muscle to make this leap to the next weight class. He’s a guy who’s been holding his body back from naturally being bigger, like he wants to be, so he can compete in the lightweight division. He’s going to fill into this weight class, and he’s not going to look like a lightweight moving up to welterweight, he’s going to look like a solid welterweight in a title fight.”
Poirier went toe-to-toe with Makhachev for over 4 rounds when they clashed at Newark’s Prudential Center before succumbing to a D’arce choke in the final round. “The Diamond” thinks that Makhachev’s elite grappling pedigree could prove the difference at Madison Square Garden this weekend.
“It’s going to come down to his ability to get takedowns and hold JDM down,” Poirier said. “If JDM can get back up over and over and scramble, I think he’s going to give Islam a lot of problems with the exchanges of boxing.”
