Off the back of his spectacular victory over the surging, Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 over the course of last weekend, former interim lightweight titleholder, Dustin Poirier admits he was a little ticked off by the commentary of stalwart favorite, Joe Rogan – adamantly denying claims he was fatigued in the bout.
Poirier, who retained his number three rank within the division’s rankings off the back of his win, fought through some notable adversity in the opening round against Nimes native, Saint-Denis, wrapping up a thunderous second round stoppage in the form of a KO win over the roughshod running challenger.
Fighting off numerous submission attempts throughout their five round scheduled bout, Poirier shelled up at the fence in the second frame, before unloading a counter left uppercut, momentarily dropping Saint-Denis to one knee.
And circling out, Poirier uncorked a whopper right hook shot, sending Saint-Denis hurtling back to the canvas, forcing a stoppage with a massive ground strike soon thereafter.
Dustin Poirier reflects on UFC 299 win
Reflecting on his win, Poirier, who has sights fixed on a stunning June return in a lightweight title siege against the undisputed, Islam Makhachev, admitted he took umbrage with some comments from Rogan on comms at UFC 299.
“I rewatched the fight last night with my wife when we got back to Lousiana,” Dustin Poirier told MMA Fighting. “Joe Rogan said I was exhausted, said I was tired like five times. Bor, I do not get tired. I have some of the best cardio in this fight sh*t that we do. Like, I can go 25 minutes, hard, cracking the whole time, I can’t believe he said that – I felt good.
“…I thought I was gonna have to break him (Benoit Saint-Denis) down, wear him down a little bit more but I caught him in the middle of a trad when his chin was up and his body wasn’t set for that right hook. The timing of it was just perfect to whip his brain around.”
Addressing his loss to Poirier, Saint-Denis, who saw his stunning winning run of finishes halted at UFC 299, confirmed speculation that he was suffering with an infection during fight week – revealing he required antibiotics to battle the setback – which ultimately effected his cardio.
What’s next for Dustin Poirier after his blistering win at UFC 299?