Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has recently gone on air clarifying his grappling session last year with four-time World Strongest Man Brian Shaw.
Dustin Poirier was invited to go onto Shaw’s podcast, in which he accepted, where he later that day grappled, and submitted the 400-plus pound strongman.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports recently interviewed Dustin Poirier regarding his upcoming fight with Michael Chandler, as well as his encounter with the former Worlds Strongest Man.
Poirier explained: “That’s not the full video. He taps me out later on by just putting his weight on top of me. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, but (he’s) a huge individual man, he’s a giant.
“It was fun, it was fun, ya know. He has no grappling experience, but just his strength and size; just to get my legs around him, to take his back to try to hang onto him, he’s just such a huge human being. It was fun, it was a good experience.
“Just getting my arms around his neck is neck is like trying to grab someone’s waist. That’s how big his neck is.
Iole then asked Poirier what the effect of significant physical strength has in a fight:
Poirier responded: “Strength is a big thing in fights that can (at times) make up for technique. If you’re trying to get up off the mat, or build back up on the fence and you’re technically doing it a little wrong but you have the strength and explosiveness, it kind of fills some of the gaps and makes guys be able to do more than their skillset would allowed them to do.”
Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier returns to the octagon next weekend, November 12, at UFC 281 opposing former multi-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler.
Dustin Poirier is known for his relentless attack on the feet in the UFC octagon, but he recently had the chance to show off his underrated ground game as well against one of the world’s biggest giants. Poirier recently had the chance to get some grappling rounds in with World’s Strongest Man competitor Brian Shaw […]