Poirier on Khabib saying he s going to maul him: We re not here to play tennis
Get the Full StoryThat means nothing saying I m going to maul him . You re supposed to. I expect the same from him when I say I m going to hurt him, I expect the same that he s going to try to hurt me and take me out. That s what fighting is. Dustin Poirier knows a thing or two about maulings, having battered the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway enroute to winning the interim UFC lightweight title at UFC 236.That s why, when reigning lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov said he was going to maul Poirier in their proposed title unification bout, The Diamond wasn t even remotely fazed. In Poirier s world, mauling is part of the game.
Speaking to MMA Weekly s Damon Martin in a recent interview, newly-crowned interim champ Poirier said he didn t take Khabib s comments personally. This isn t a game of tennis, after all.
This is fighting. I m going to try to hurt him for 25 minutes. I m going to try to stop his body from working, Poirier said. That means nothing saying I m going to maul him . You re supposed to. I expect the same from him when I say I m going to hurt him, I expect the same that he s going to try to hurt me and take me out. That s what fighting is.
We re not in there playing tennis. What can a guy say at this point? 40 fights into this crazy thing called mixed martial arts, I don t care anymore. None of that bothers me anymore.
Poirier says the UFC hasn t yet booked a date for the matchup but the Louisianan expects to lock horns with Nurmagomedov some time in September.
That s exactly what I want, Poirier said about fighting in September. Just that. I want to spend a couple months at home training, helping out local guys, friends of mine who fight professionally here in Louisiana. Maybe I ll take a couple weekend trips up to Florida just to work on some stuff. But I d really like to lock in July sometime, head up to Florida for the long haul for another camp.
We ll see. This is a crazy sport. Nothing s certain. I don t know what month we re going to fight. I m hoping that s the next fight. Dana White said it is. Khabib Nurmagomedov said it is so that s what I m expecting.
Expect an official announcement from the UFC in the coming weeks.
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