Coach Mike Brown believes we will see an even better Dustin Poirier in his title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
A lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier is all but confirmed, and former WEC featherweight champion turned American Top Team head coach Mike Brown thinks Poirier is going to shock the world again.
Poirier, a former UFC featherweight contender, was a considerable underdog against Max Holloway at UFC 236, and ‘The Diamond’ is going to be an even bigger underdog heading into his highly anticipated lightweight title clash versus Nurmagomedov.
With that said Brown, who has been coaching Poirier for over seven years, believes his prized student will pull off the upset against Khabib like he did against reigning featherweight champ Holloway at UFC 236.
“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 said in a recent interview with MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall. “Only good things can happen. Dustin is 100 percent capable, and he’s going to win that fight.”
In fact, Brown believes Poirier’s decision win over Holloway, which saw the Louisianan taste UFC gold for the first time of his career, will propel him to ‘another level’ in the Khabib fight.
“Dustin is such a talented guy, super-skilled mentally, physically and technically, and I believe he’s in his absolute prime,” Brown said. “He could have win 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.”
Nurmagomedov vs. Poirier hasn’t been confirmed, but it looks negotiations are underway to get the fight booked for September. Expect an official announcement from Ultimate Fighting Championship in the coming days.