Drew Dober would expect a “close fight” between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.
UFC lightweight Drew Dober has given his thoughts on a potential title fight between Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev, stating that “fight IQ would be the winning factor” in the lightweight matchup.
Despite losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a previous title fight, Dober believes Poirier would put up a much better fight against Nurmagomedov’s protégé, saying “Dustin Poirier could give him [Makhachev] some problems.”
He spoke about the potential matchup during an interview with James Lynch (h/t Andrew Whitelaw).
“That would be a close fight. Really, the fight IQ in that fight would be the winning factor,” Dober, who was submitted by Makhachev last year, said.
Makhachev (23-1) is set to defend his lightweight title against Alexander Volkanovski in February, while Poirier (29-7, 1 NC) is coming off a submission victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 281.
As for Dober, the American is coming off a knockout victory over Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 66, KO’ing him to extend his winning streak to 3-0 and propel himself into the top-fifteen UFC lightweight rankings.