“I don’t need huge glaring holes. I’m going to create them with my pressure, my fight IQ, my experience, and the amount of rounds and years that I’ve been doing this.”
Undefeated at 27-0, it’s difficult to poke holes in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s game.
There aren’t many chinks in the Dagestani’s armor, but newly-crowned interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is planning to create those holes at UFC 242, where he will square off with Khabib in a highly anticipated title unification bout at du Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to reporters at a UFC 242 pre-fight press conference in London, ‘The Diamond’ said he plans to overwhelm Nurmagomedov with his pressure fighting and outsmart the Russian with his superior fight IQ.
“A lot of people have been asking me questions like where do I see weaknesses in Khabib’s game or where do I think he makes mistakes,” Poirier said on Wednesday, per MMA Junkie’s Simon Head and Abbey Subhan. “I’ve been sitting back and talking to my coaches and thinking about this, and I don’t really need him to be weak for me to be strong.
“I don’t need huge glaring holes. I’m going to create them with my pressure, my fight IQ, my experience, and the amount of rounds and years that I’ve been doing this.”
UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier takes place later this year, September 7 at du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.