If there’s one man you’d expect to be singing Dustin Poirier’s praises, it’s his coach Mike Brown. In a recent interview, he declared his respect for the reigning lightweight champ Charles Oliveira, but reiterated that it’s Dustin, not Oliveira, who is the greatest lightweight alive.
“I give him a lot of respect. I think he’s a fan-favorite, I think people are excited to see him fight and he is the champ. The guy has the most subs in UFC history and this is something special.
Poirier’s Coach Offers “Respect” to Oliveira, Names Dustin “Best Lightweight in the World”
I don’t know, the circle I’m in, the circles I’m involved in, give him a lot of respect. Maybe in the media [or with the fans] that’s the case, but from where I’m sitting he gets a lot of respect.”
Dustin Poirier came back from a gruelling submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov to string together a title charge. His consecutive knockout victories over former champ Conor McGregor secured him a shot at Charles Oliveira, presenting the freshly crowned lightweight king with his first title defense.
“I love the matchup. It’s exciting. His style, he’s an elite submission grappler, one of the best in the sport and it’s a fun puzzle. But I think Dustin is the best lightweight in the world, without a doubt.
One of my favorite stats that they threw out recently was the third quickest to 20 wins behind Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre. That’s pretty damn good company, and that shows what caliber of a fighter he truly is. He’s one of the greatest to ever do the sport.”
Brown continued to laud Poirier’s achievements, particularly noting Poirier’s return to winning ways following the loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. One of the most exciting aspects of mixed martial arts is the pace with which the sports elite can change, with champions rarely lasting longer than a few fights.
“It shows you that you think you’re out, but one or two fights and you’re right back in there. You can never count yourself out, this sport changes so quickly. Sometimes, with the world championship, there’s a little bit of luck involved with timing, promotion, so many things, the luck on the night. Sometimes the better fighter doesn’t always win. There’s so many things that factor in.
If you look at Dustin’s overall resume, it’s unbelievably impressive.” With Poirier set to take on Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, the result in the Octagon will surely determine who is the greater lightweight.
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