Diamonds are Forever: The Peculiar Case of Dustin Poirier
2024 has brought some exhilarating changes to the landscape of the UFC's prima Dona division ( the lightweight division ) , Max Holloway cemented his status as the undisputed king of the Pacific by defeating the lightweight hellspawn and 2nd ever BMF champion Justin Gaethje in spectacular fashion.
Additionally,Arman tsarukian defeated Brazil's Slumdog Warlord Charles Olivera and as the Victor inches himself that much closer to a highnoon Duel with the Dagestani Marauder Islam Mahachev.
Among all of these fascinating developments Dustin poirier at least for a time perhaps shined the brightest in the promotion. After defeating a young & hungry God of War,The legendary diamond was declared # 1 contender for the lightweight title.
At the time of this announcement many fans,MMA analyst, fellow fighters, & Dustin himself viewed that 3rd attempt at securing UFC gold to be the final arrow left in the quiver.
Dustin despite his own blazing desire to be crowned UFC champion before riding off into the sunset & despite be as fabulously wealthy & as finely tuned as he's ever been as a mixed martial artist was also very realistic heading into fight camp preparations and the bout itself.
Dustin is currently 35-36 yrs old,and given that these are typically the ages where alot of fighters male & female alike begin to regress and decline.
As Dustin exits his prime fighting years he confessed to not knowing how many times he'd be able to relentlessly fight his way back up the ladder to the # 1 contender spot or put himself back into position.
By this point in his career Dustin poirier is a veteran of the sport and a future hall of famer. Regrettably on the night he battled Islam Mahachev his absolute best was not enough in that octagon and he sustained much damage and came away with a slew of severe injuries rather than a world title.
Undoubtedly, this latest loss was devastating for the diamond and he'll likely not challenge for the lightweight title ever again for the remainder of his career so long as Islam has the belt in his possession.
Through all of this doom & Gloom there is one silver lining for longtime fans and the diamond himself to campaign for and dream for. In the welterweight division at UFC 304, Bella Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards to become the division's new ruler.
As far as I'm concerned Dustin poirier may not ever be a lightweight champion but given his age,durability,& plentiful experience along with his past history of successfully switching divisions Dustin should pack on some more muscle and strength then move up to welterweight.
Now poirier might not be as large & in charge as most of the fighters within that weight class but he does have a superb fight IQ and he's exceptionally well rounded with his only hiccup being his grappling game.
Given that Poirier’s grappling skills are not yet on the elite level,I believe that there's certainly time for him to shift his focus and develop that skill as he climbs up the welterweight rankings.
By the time Dustin is ready to throwdown with the likes of Colby Covington,Kamaru Usman, or Leon Edwards in a title eliminator those grappling skills should be sharp enough to go head to head with Muhammad.
Now, Belal is good friends with Islam Mahachev and the Nurmagamedov clan but he is not Islam or a Nurmagamedov.
Muhammad is a completely different fighter than those guys and I believe that if Dustin is willing to wholeheartedly iron out the flaws in his grappling and Perhaps even commit himself to training at gyms like Extreme Couture with Sean Strickland,Glover Texierias gym in Danbury Connecticut with Alex Pereira & Glover himself ( both men successful UFC champions ) , and even putting in some work with magnificent grapplers such as Gordon Ryan & Mikey Musemeci I think he'd go into the fight with Muhammad with so much more than just a Sporting chance…he may even enter the octagon that night with the advantage.
Dustin poirier in my opinion should take a few lessons from Mike Perry who made the jump from the UFC to the BKFC and found a tremendous amount of success. Maybe the diamond should leave the lightweight division behind and roll the dice on his career one last time.
Welterweight could give Dustin a fresh start and potentially open up the doors to undisputed UFC gold,the only question is will Dustin see things on the same way and begin his welterweight crusade with everything to lose and only one last lottery to win.
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