Dustin Poirier praises new UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for his flawless performance against Charles Oliveira.
Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) dominated Oliveira en route to a second-round submission to claim the vacant title at UFC 280. Having been submitted by Oliveira at UFC 269, Poirier was amazed by what Makhachev did to him.
“Man, very impressed,” Poirier told Yahoo Sports. “Very impressed. He went in there and did it as smooth as you can possibly go in there and do it. You know, no marks, no cuts, no bruises, and he’s a world champion. That’s a sweet night, man. I’m very impressed with him.”
Not only did Makhachev control Oliveira on the ground, but it was a left hook that started the fight-ending sequence. With Makhachev already possessing a top-level ground game, Poirier complimented the newly crowned champ for rounding out his skillset.
“I mean, it’s huge,” Poirier said. “You know, you can’t be – in this day and age in mixed martial arts, you can’t be a fighter who has one thing. You have to be able to do it all. You have to be a mixed martial artist, and he showed that. He went out there and hurt Charles and then put him away at his own game. That’s the highest level.”
Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) returns to action Nov. 12 when he faces former Bellator champ and UFC title challenger Michael Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC 281 in New York.
