Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling offers a fascinating view on whether Dustin Poirier could be the lightweight GOAT if he beats Islam Makhachev.
The ‘GOAT’ debate is entirely subjective, depending on what you value as a fight fan or as a professional athlete – and whilst Khabib Nurmagomedov is the consensus greatest lightweight of all time, there are some in the MMA community who argue ‘The Diamond’ could take that title with a win this weekend at UFC 302.
‘Funkmaster’ is predicting a ‘Diamond’ champion atop the 155lb tree
Breaking down the main card of UFC 302 via his official YouTube channel, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling revealed that he’s siding with ‘The Diamond’ to get his hand raised, and a shiny gold belt wrapped around his waist.
“No disrespect to Islam but I think Dustin is going to get it done, I don’t know how – I could see him knocking him out or for once, catching the gilly,” Sterling predicted, before noting that a statement victory, especially one that ends in retirement, could see Poirier enter the lightweight GOAT debate for one key reason.
Aljamain Sterling on Dustin Poirier’s place in lightweight GOAT debate
With Sterling picking Dustin Poirier to shock the world this weekend at UFC 302, the conversation quickly shifted to whether or not ‘The Diamond’ could be considered as the Greatest Of All Time at 155lbs.
“You know, arguments can made,” stated Sterling, explaining how when it comes to discussing the lightweight GOAT picture, he tends to prioritize an outstanding resume over an undefeated record.
“This is my metric, the record is one thing but something about strength of schedule, to me as a competitor, it matters and who you’ve beaten… Yeah, you could say ‘never lost a round or never seen your own blood’ – those things are also important, but strength of schedule.”
Ahead of UFC 302, Poirier has already faced (and beaten) the likes of Justin Gaethje, Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, Anthony Pettis, Bobby Green, and Jim Miller – to name only a handful of iconic fighters.
The former bantamweight champion said, “I think everyone’s criteria is very, very different so for me, strength of schedule matters, frequency matters,” before boldly stating that a win over Islam Makhachev this weekend could see ‘The Diamond’ sitting above even the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov in his rankings.
“If Dustin wins and caps off his career, if he goes out there and hits the gilly or gets a knockout, or decision over Islam Makhachev, the next best guy, if he beats him and you look at the complexity of his career from the WEC to the UFC, beat the who’s who of the division, I think you’d be hard pressed not to [make that argument].”
“It’s hard not to say that Dustin is one of the greatest lightweights of all time – can I say he’s the GOAT because Khabib beat him? But then Khabib competed half as many times as Dustin… If Khabib competed as many times as Dustin, I think the conversation today is completely different, and I say that respectfully.”
Whilst ‘Funkmaster’ did acknowledge that if the GOAT debate comes purely down to who was the most dominant fighter over their career, there’s no one who even comes close to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, Sterling also noted that there is a key difference between ‘domination’ and ‘decoration’ when it comes to notable achievements as a top-tier UFC fighter:
“It’s hard to say who is the actual GOAT, I think all those guys that are in the running – who’s the most dominant? Khabib Nurmagomedov… [But] Who is the greatest lightweight of all time? I think it’s hard to ignore Charles Oliveira, and for Dustin to do it, he’d have one of the most decorated careers that you could ever say graced the octagon.”
“Will Dustin be the GOAT? It would be hard to say but he’s up there in a three-headed race with Charles Oliveira and Khabib, in terms of three most decorated competitors at 155 right now.”
Dustin Poirier has a chance to make history this weekend, when he steps into the octagon to face Islam Makhachev live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.