He’s already a legend, but there’s one thing he lacks for immortality. Will Dustin Poirier finally get his hands on the title? I’m still fighting for that alone, he says

The UFC has had another phenomenal gala. One of the main stars of the tournament in Miami was Dustin Poirier. The 35-year-old fighter is already an undisputed legend, but he is one thing short of immortality. Will he get his hands on the title?

Diamond once again showed why he is a legend

UFC 299 offered a great show, great fights and great stars. Familiar faces were already on the prelims, but as usual the biggest aces were on the main card. One of them was Dustin Poirier, who faced an interesting challenge.

Diamond took on an opponent no one wanted to fight. French God of War Benoit Saint-Denis stepped into the cage with him, finishing one opponent after another and rightfully commanding respect.

At 35 years old, however, the American has nothing to fear. In the cage he has faced stars like Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira. The Frenchman could only dream of such opponents.

God of War, as Saint-Denis is nicknamed, did not start the fight badly, however. It is a question, however, how much of this was his merit and how much a mistake on the part of the American, who looked as if he was toying with the Frenchman, testing him. After all, how else to explain that he attempted three guillotines in the first round alone?

His trainer had to ban him from the guillotine at the break. But what did Dustin Poirier do at the start of the second round? He landed a hard shot and instead of stepping on the gas, he tried the guillotine again. He made the fight more difficult for himself. Voluntarily? That’s the question. But he needn’t have been sorry. He finally delivered an exhibition KO in the second round and is the first ever to shut Saint-Denis down.

After the fight, he praised his opponent. He saw himself as an interesting challenge.

“I don’t even know how many, but all of my last opponents were former champions, huge main event fights, big fights, and now I was fighting this young kid who was finishing his last opponents. I figured I’d at least see if I could still do it against the young guys. It feels good,” MMA Junkie quotes him as saying.

Will Dustin Poirier get his hands on the title?

He has nearly 40 fights under his belt. He’s 22-7 in the UFC and he is faced the absolute best. He’s been among the top for most of his career. Plus, in a division that’s insanely competitive. He’s already an unquestioned legend. But he’s missing one thing. Dustin Poirier has never been the rightful champion.

He only held the interim title after he beat Max Holloway. After that, he only lost title fights. In one, he was not far from winning. He nearly choked out the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, but the latter got out of the choke and eventually beat Diamond on the same technique.

The current champion is Khabib’s former charge Islam Makhachev, who is waiting for his next opponent. Will it be the American? After the battle with Saint-Denis, the Dagestani fighter admitted that he was impressed by his performance. Likewise, his manager Ali Abdelaziz hinted that this scenario could actually be in play, as early as June in Saudi Arabia.

“I don’t want to brag, but I have achieved a lot in this sport. I’ve ticked a lot of boxes, but one thing is still missing. To be a champion. That’s what I started fighting for. To be the best in the world. It’s theonly reason I fight,” Dustin Poirier said at the press conference.

“We’ll see what’s next. I’ll go back home, talk to the trainers, talk to my wife and we’ll see,” the 35-year-old fighter concluded the topic.

Source: MMA Junkie, UFC