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FIGHT ODDS

A History of Interactions Between Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier

Abhinav KiniApr 30, 2019


You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

New interim Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Dustin Poirier will challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout later this year. It’s a fight that “The Diamond” has wanted for a while as well. With that said, let’s take a look at a history of interactions between the two lightweight titleholders.

First mentions


The two only really started talking about each other recently. Poirier first spoke of Nurmagomedov in late 2017 when he was asked about who the toughest fight at lightweight would be.



Poirier would then discuss Nurmagomedov’s prospects against Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson in early 2018.



The first real mention of “The Diamond” from Nurmagomedov was when he was asked about a number of lightweights in an interview with Megan Olivi in March 2018. When Poirier’s name came up, “The Eagle” kept it short and simple by saying he was “not bad, but not a tough fight.”



Calling out the champion


Since then, Nurmagomedov would go on to become the lightweight champion, and that’s when Poirier started calling him out a lot more, particularly after his win over Justin Gaethje in April 2018.





“The Diamond” would continue making his case, later explaining why he could be the first to defeat the Dagestan native. "I feel like my wrestling is very underrated," Poirier said in an interview. "My jiu-jitsu can cause some threats. I feel like I match up well with him. I think I'm the guy to do it."

Poirier would call him out once again following his win over Eddie Alvarez, arguing that the work he had put in made him deserve a title shot.



However, the following month, Nurmagomedov was confirmed to be facing McGregor at UFC 229 in October.

Post UFC 229


Though “The Eagle” retained his title against McGregor, he was suspended for his part in the post-fight brawl and would only likely return after nearly a year.



That left the lightweight division in disarray, with Poirier calling out both McGregor or Ferguson, though he still wanted Nurmagomedov.









Struggling to get a meaningful fight, Poirier was ready to give up until Ferguson’s personal problems ruled him out of an interim lightweight title fight with Max Holloway at UFC 236. Poirier was called up instead, and the rest was history as he became the new interim lightweight champion.