The UFC 302 face-off event between Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier was heated. Makhachev almost lost his temper and beat Poirier.
The two fighters underwent a face-off ahead of the duel at UFC 302 on Thursday (5/30/2024). During the meeting, Dustin Poirier’s comments ignited Makhachev’s emotions.
“I will beat you on Saturday. [Put you] to sleep [KO]. I will conquer you and stop you by putting you to sleep.”
“You will fall and try to grab my feet, pray,” said Poirier as quoted by MMA Junkie.
What made Makhachev furious was not that sentence. Makhachev was angry because Poirier’s next sentence contained curses.
“I will put you to sleep [KO], motherf**ker,” said Poirier.
Makhachev immediately reacted strongly to the sentence. Makhachev even threatened that he would not hesitate to make physical contact with Poirier.
“Don’t say motherf**ker. Don’t say that. Don’t say that or I’ll slap you,” said Islam Makhachev.
Islam Makhachev is currently the UFC lightweight champion. He won the belt when he won a submission against Charles Oliveira in 2022.
Islam Makhachev has defended his title twice last year. Both were duels against Alexander Volkanovski. In the first match, Makhachev won on points while in the second match, Makhachev won by KO.
Meanwhile, Conor McGregor also gave his assessment of the UFC lightweight fight. He considered Dustin Poirier to have a chance to win by KO against defending champion Islam Makhachev.
“I think Dustin can do it. I think Dustin can do it, knock him out,” McGregor said on Duelbits Live Stream, quoted from MMA Fighting.
McGregor said the beginning of the fight was a crucial moment for Poirier to be able to defeat Makhachev. In McGregor’s view, Makhachev often showed negligence at the beginning of the match.
McGregor is currently preparing himself to face Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29. The match will be McGregor’s chance to get back on track to hunt for the championship title.
Image source: mmajunkie.com
