For a few brief moments, Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier transformed from respected opponents to heated rivals after a pre-fight faceoff turned volatile.
As they stared each other down, Makhachev and Poirier started exchanging words, which isn’t all that unusual. But Makhachev’s demeanor changed rather quickly as he began jawing back at Poirier in a manner that suggested this wasn’t some friendly banter.
When the audio from the confrontation was finally made available, Poirier could be heard saying “go to sleep, motherf*cker” as he predicted a knockout in the fight. That didn’t sit well with Makhachev, who fired back with “don’t say motherf*cker to me.”
Security eventually intervened to separate the fighters but it turns out it was Poirier’s particular choice of words that got under Makhachev’s skin, even if that’s not what the former interim champion was trying to accomplish.
“Honestly, I think it was a misunderstanding,” Makhachev’s longtime manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting after the press conference. “He said something — everybody comes from different cultures and he said something accepted in American culture, it’s OK to drop the MF word. But with Muslim guys or Russian guys, you can’t say the MF word. Because this is almost talking about his mother. We know in America you can say the MF word and it’s OK, it’s whatever.
“I personally don’t like to call people that. I don’t like nobody to call me that but in America, it’s OK. People say it to each other. I don’t think it’s good but I don’t think Dustin Poirier meant it, and Islam had to be like ‘hey, don’t talk to me this way.’ I think that’s how things got mixed up a little bit but I don’t think Dustin meant it in a malicious way. But he pissed Islam off and Islam wasn’t happy about it but I think he’s good.”
As much as Poirier’s tone and language may have bothered Makhachev in that moment, Abdelaziz promises there’s no lingering bad blood left over from the exchange.
“Dustin Poirier’s a good guy,” Abdelaziz said. “Khabib [auctioned] his shirt for $150,000 to donate to his charity. If Dustin Poirier was not a good guy, Khabib would not [auction] his shirt, donate to his charity when they fought. Dustin Poirier’s a good guy, he’s a good father, a good man.
“We respect him, but he’s the enemy right now, in a competition way. I don’t think you can [show] two people who can say Dustin Poirier’s not a good guy.”
Good guy or not, Abdelaziz promises that the result is going to be the same once Makhachev sets foot in the octagon against Poirier on Saturday night at UFC 303.
Makhachev is an overwhelming favorite to win the fight as he’s continued to steamroll his competition in the lightweight division.
In this situation, Poirier got his title shot largely thanks to his career resume and good timing rather than actually earning his spot as the No. 1 contender. While Poirier looked impressive with his finish over top prospect Benoit Saint Denis back in March, that performance just put him back in the win column for the first time after he suffered a knockout loss to Justin Gaethje back in 2023.
But with Arman Tsarukyan unable to compete so soon after beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, Poirier was offered the opportunity to fight for the title in June.
Given all those circumstances, Abdelaziz knows that Makhachev can’t just eke out a win against Poirier on Saturday.
“Listen, he has to go out there and try to run through Dustin Poirier,” Abdelaziz said. “This is the plan. I respect Dustin but I think at this point in Islam’s career, this is what he needs to do. The only way Dustin Poirier can beat him — a lucky punch. That’s it. If he catches him. But I’m talking about fighting, pole to pole, I think Islam will wipe the floor with everybody out there right now. This is what I think.
“He can’t just go out there and beat Dustin Poirier, just to be clear. He has to go there and he has to make Dustin Poirier [look] like he doesn’t belong in there. This is what Islam has to do for his star power to keep going up.”
As much as the faceoff on Thursday looked like maybe Makhachev was getting drawn into an emotional battle with Poirier, Abdelaziz is confident that’s not the case.
When it comes time to fight, Makhachev has ice running through his veins just like his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov did once upon a time when he engaged in much uglier encounter against Conor McGregor. In the end, Nurmagomedov dispatched McGregor inside four rounds and Abdelaziz expects Makhachev to do the same to Poirier.
“Islam Makhachev is as advertised. He’s a cold-blooded killer,” Abdelaziz said. “He’s so talented. He’s a hard worker. He has no flaws but I think at the end of the day, out of all the contenders, [Charles] Oliveira is very dangerous — you saw what Islam did to him. [Justin] Gaethje, of course is dangerous, and Dustin Poirier is dangerous, too. He’s fighting one of the most dangerous guys in the division. He’s not taking Dustin Poirier lightly.
“We know Dustin Poirier’s a legend. We know Dustin Poirier, if you leave an opening for him what he can do. I’m telling you, he’s taking him seriously. He’s going in there with very bad intentions to really hurt Dustin Poirier. Not in a bad way, in an athletic way. He wants to go in there and finish him and show why he’s the best in the world.”
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