UFC commentator Jon Anik breaks down Dustin Poirier’s chances ahead of an enormous lightweight title fight against champ Islam Makhachev.
When Dustin Poirier eventually makes his highly anticipated walk to the octagon this weekend, he’ll likely close as one of the biggest underdogs on the entire UFC 302 card – but when the pressure is on, ‘The Diamond’ usually shines brightest.
Jon Anik breaks down the main event of UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier
Speaking with Ethan Diamandas via the Odds Shark YouTube channel, UFC commentator Jon Anik admitted that he’s glad he’s not an oddsmaker as he “would find it exceedingly hard to price Islam Makhachev right now because he really is that good.”
“[But] I can understand why a lot of the fanbase and a lot of the fighters like Dustin Poirier in this spot, I like the quick turnaround having faced Benoit Saint-Denis in a really big pressure spot – not a title fight of course, but he was a betting underdog in that setting.”
In fact, Dustin Poirier has a remarkable record as an underdog, with his upset victory over the French former special force’s operator improving his underdog record to 6-3.
Four of those six underdog victories have come by way of unanimous decision (Max Holloway 2, Joseph Duffy, Erik Koch, and Josh Grispi), with the final two being via knockout (Conor McGregor 2, Benoit Saint-Denis).
“I like that this fight is happening in New Jersey, it’s in his time zone, it’s close to home and I like the competition cycle,” continued Anik.
“He was largely unscratched even though it wasn’t a perfect performance against Benoit Saint-Denis and he does have a lot more experience accrued over the last several years.”
The fan-favorite color commentator also hailed the manner in which Poirier has bounced back from the various low points in his career, with ‘The Diamond’ seemingly always coming out on top:
“When you look back at the fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov and we could spend 10 minutes on how that experience might play into this fight against Islam Makhachev, but then so responsive thereafter against Dan Hooker, then two wins against Conor McGregor.”
“I do think that Poirier is going to perform well, I think the problem might just be the guy that is in the red corner,” he admitted, before detailing what Dustin Poirier needs to do in order to get his hand raised on June 1.
Anik explains how Dustin Poirier can ‘shock the world’ in Newark
Given both the relentless wrestling pressure of Makhachev and the outstanding cardio of the Dagestani wrecking ball, most MMA fans who are picking Poirier to win are opting to side with ‘The Diamond’ getting a finish – rather than stealing the belt through a decision win.
Having witnessed Poirier’s knockout ability up close and personal, it’s unsurprising to hear Anik explaining that the key to victory “I think [is] natural power and I say that with all due respect to Islam Makhachev.”
“But Dustin Poirier out of that southpaw stance has a lot of power, certainly in that right hand but in the left hand as well, and I just think it’s about risk mitigation for him – when are you going to go for it, pick your spots, and try to avoid the ground.”
Anik also noted that part of the gameplan for Poirier will simply be surviving the grappling exchanges as every round starts on the feet, giving ‘The Diamond’ at least one more opportunity to score that one dramatic shot that could shock the world:
“When it comes to MMA and Joe Rogan spoke about this recently, they allow you to stand up at the beginning of every round so I do think that it stands to reason that if Dustin Poirier can gain respect with that power early on and present some sort of adversity.”
“I’m really excited for this fight, really excited to see what Poirier can do with this opportunity,” teased the voice of the UFC broadcast, before ultimately acknowledging that whatever investment fans have in Poirier, you must be aware of the enormous task in front of him.
“A lot of people think the stars are aligned and there are a lot of intangibles working in his favor but Islam Makhachev’s -550 and he’s already in New Jersey.”
Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier is the main event of UFC 302, set to go down from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 1.