Cody Rhodes is in Dustin Poirier’s corner.
Less than two months after the current Undisputed WWE Champion captured the attention of the sports world by finishing his story and beating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL, Rhodes dropped a promo with his famous tagline in support of Poirier’s likely final attempt to become undisputed UFC lightweight champion against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302.
Rhodes’ message can be watched in its entirety below.
“Even though you may not be able to avenge that Khabib [Nurmagomedov] loss, you can do the next best thing and take out his prized pupil instead,” Rhodes said. “To get a little revenge along with that title that has been so close but just out of reach, it won’t be easy, but it never is for guys like us. So go on, Dustin, finish your story. I’ll be watching.”
Poirier, 35, makes his third attempt at winning undisputed UFC gold on Saturday when he challenges MMA Fighting’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, Makhachev, in UFC 302’s main event. While Poirier is a beloved and decorated figure within MMA, his past two attempts to become undisputed champion against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019 and Charles Oliveira in 2021 both ended in third-round losses via rear-naked choke submissions.
Makhachev, 32, is unbeaten over his past 13 UFC appearances, including a pair of successful title defense over former featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski. With a win at UFC 302, Makhachev will move into a five-way tie for the most consecutive lightweight title defenses in UFC history.
UFC 302 takes place June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
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