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UFC 302 is just around the corner. The card goes down this Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, and it feels like one of the biggest of the year so far. Headlining…
UFC 302 is just around the corner. The card goes down this Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, and it feels like one of the biggest of the year so far. Headlining…
Islam Makhachev is confident he can beat Leon Edwards. On Saturday night, June 1, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ will put…
Islam Makhachev is confident he can beat Leon Edwards.
On Saturday night, June 1, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ will put his lightweight world title on the line in the UFC 302 main event against division fan favorite Dustin Poirier. Should Makhachev leave The Garden State with his title intact, he has his sights set on champ-champ status.
During an interview with UFC Hall of Famer and friend Daniel Cormier, Makhachev spoke about the possibility of stepping inside the Octagon with current welterweight champion Leon Edwards in a bid to add a second belt to his collection. During the conversation, Makhachev dished details on a sparring session that went down between himself and ‘Rocky.’
“I know I can be double champion.” Makhachev said. “I can beat Edwards. I’ve known his name from my first day in the U.S. I know him. No [he didn’t give my any problems], it was my first sparring session in the U.S. Now people understand [Cormier] lies. My first sparring session in the U.S. was Leon.”
He continued, “…I knew, I couldn’t lose first sparring in the cage. When time began, I went double-leg and took him down. But at that time, he wasn’t a good wrestler. He came to [AKA] to learn. Maybe right now he’s good at wrestling and can defend. But at that time, his big [struggle] was wrestling. I took him down, and I held him.”
Islam Makhachev was offered the opportunity to challenge Leon Edwards for the 170-pound title in the UFC 300 headliner, but ultimately declined as the event went down just days after the conclusion of Ramadan.
“It’s not possible, man,” Makhachev told MMA Junkie when asked if the UFC proposed a fight against Edwards. “Because we have Ramadan now. One month with fasting, and it’s not possible to do training in Ramadan. It’s very hard. You have to fast when the sun rises, and all day you have to fast. … Training this time is very hard.”
Instead, Makhachev was paired up with Dustin Poirier for UFC 302 leaving Leon Edwards to tend to his division’s No. 1 ranked contender — Belal Muhammad.
Remember The Name’ will finally earn his shot as Edwards is set to put his gold on the line against Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester, England on July 27. It will be Edwards’ first defense since scoring a lopsided victory over Colby Covington at UFC 296 last December.
Appearing at tonight’s official pre-fight press conference ahead of UFC 302, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier most definitely…
Appearing at tonight’s official pre-fight press conference ahead of UFC 302, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier most definitely entered with a chip on his shoulder before his fight with Islam Makhachev, vowing to “sleep” the Russian in their championship clash this weekend.
Poirier, a former interim lightweight gold holder and the current number four ranked divisional contender, returns this weekend at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, attempting to land the undisputed lightweight crown at the third time of trying in a showdown with Makhachev.
Landing an impressive knockout win over Benoit Saint Denis back in March at UFC 299, Dustin Poirier vowed to “sleep” Makhachev this weekend in Newark, encouraging the Russian to believe the apparent hype regarding his striking prowess and throw down with him.
Himself sidelined since October of last year, Makhachev most recently turned in his own spectacular win at UFC 294 against former champion, Alexander Volkanovski, finishing the Australian with a blistering opening round high-kick knockout.
And sharing the stage with middleweight talents, Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa – who take co-main event honors in a five round clash in New Jersey, Poirier and Makhachev who have engaged in a rather heated pre-fight back-and-forth, immediately exchanged words during respective questioning.
Urging the American Kickboxing Academy staple to stand and trade with him if he is under the impression he can hang with him on the feet, with Makhachev claiming he would either knock him out, or either put him to sleep via submission.
Accepting that the pairing would likely fail to meet the 25 minute limit this weekend in their UFC 302 headliner, Poirier held a hugely intense face-off with Makhachev during their staredown, with the duo exchanging verbals, and appearing to almost get physical at one point.
Appearing to take umbrage with use of expletives from Poirier during their staredown, Makhachev closed the distance on the Lafayette striker, urging him from refrain from swearing, with Poirier doubling down – resulting in the pair being corralled by Octagon officials.
Who wins this weekend at UFC 302: Islam Makhachev or Dustin Poirier?
Islam Makhachev is more than happy to fight Conor McGregor, but he doesn’t want to do it inside the…
Islam Makhachev is more than happy to fight Conor McGregor, but he doesn’t want to do it inside the Octagon.
On June 1, the reigning lightweight world champion will put his 155-pound title on the line when he steps into the main event spotlight at UFC 302 in New Jersey for a showdown with division fan favorite Dustin Poirier. Ahead of his third defense, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ has been making the rounds, offering his thoughts on the new UFC gloves and celebrating 50 clean drug tests.
Along the way, Makhachev also addressed the ongoing rivalry with Irish megastar Conor McGregor. Recently, ‘Mystic Mac’ made some pretty disparaging remarks about Makhachev and his team, prompting the Dagestani to snap back.
In an interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Makhachev suggested that instead of a one-on-one fight with McGregor in the cage, they could each bring their teams and have a good old-fashioned Anchorman-style street brawl.
“I want when we meet [Conor McGregor’s] team, and we all team, in the street somewhere, and we have good fights,” Makhachev said. “You know, because we all have many, many big experiences in the street. We just want to meet them and finish all talks, team vs. team. It’s going to be more interesting. Because already Khabib beat him in the cage, beat his corner. But team vs. team, maybe we can make ‘Ultimate Fighter.’”
Perhaps the UFC could take a page of out DAZN’s book and put together their own 5 vs. 5 event on pay-per-view.
As Makhachev marches toward his title tilt with ‘The Diamond,’ Conor McGregor has been dancing the night away in preparation for his upcoming clash with former Bellator MMA champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler on Saturday, June 29.
It will be McGregor’s first time competing since suffering a nasty leg injury during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirer in July 2021. In the years since, McGregor has stayed in the spotlight, regularly calling out fighters he’ll never compete with, buying into Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and making his feature film debut in a remake of the 1989 action classic Road House.
Initially, McGregor was listed as a -115 favorite on DraftKings, but with the Irishman’s recent late-night outing, fans appear to be losing faith. Currently, the former two-division champ is sitting at -102 compared to Chandler who is now a slight favorite at -118.
Will those odds continue to widen as we march closer to International Fight Week?
Just days out from their undisputed lightweight title fight this weekend at UFC 302, incumbent kingpin, Islam Makhachev has…
Just days out from their undisputed lightweight title fight this weekend at UFC 302, incumbent kingpin, Islam Makhachev has reminded challenger, Dustin Poirier that he has the ability to make their clash look “easy” in New Jersey.
Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight titleholder and pound-for-pound number one under the promotion’s banner, returns for the first time since last October, as he takes on Poirier in this weekend’s headliner at UFC 302.
Attempting to rack up his third successful defense of his 155lbs throne, Makhachev has so-far lodged both decision and stoppage wins over Alexander Volkanovski, respectively, during his reign in the division.
As for Lafayette native, Poirier, the former interim gold holder will hope to make it third time lucky in his quest for an undisputed title, as he takes on Makhachev in Newark this weekend.
Earning his shot at spoils as recently as March, Poirier – who has weighed up the possibility of retirement regardless of result at UFC 302, turned in a blistering second round knockout win over Benoit Saint Denis.
And following the immediate booking of their clash at the Prudential Center, Makhachev claimed he had the tools to turn in an “easy” triumph against Poirier.
And ahead of Saturday, Makhachev – who confirmed he would be backed by Poirier’s former-foe, Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner for UFC 302, echoed that sentiments, pointing to an apparent mistake the Louisianan seems to always make against similar foes.
“Honestly, he’s (Dustin Poirier) the same [fighter that faced Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019],” Islam Makhachev said during his media availability ahead of UFC 302. “Maybe [he’s older]. He doesn’t believe he can beat me. His coach doesn’t believe he can beat me. I know I can make this fight easy.
“I will finish him,” Islam Makhachev explained. “Because I am on a different level. I am the best fighter in the world right now. …I can strike with him, but I told you guys, if I want to make this fight easy, I know the way and everybody [else] know the way. Always when his opponent pressure him, take him down, he has the same problems always.”
Who wins at UFC 302 this weekend: Islam Makhachev or Dustin Poirier?
This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 303, Dustin Poirier will make what is most likely his final bid at the promotion’s lightweight title. He has even gone…
This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 303, Dustin Poirier will make what is most likely his final bid at the promotion’s lightweight title. He has even gone…