mma / News

Dustin Poirier Isn’t Bothered Khabib Nurmagomedov Said He Had to ‘Maul’ Poirier

April 24, 2019 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Dustin Poirier spoke with MMA Weekly responding to comments by Khabib Nurmagomedov that he will “have to maul” Poirier. Nurmagomedov made the comments while commenting on Poirier’s win at UFC 236, saying, “I think I have to maul him like I do with everybody. This is what I have to do. I respect him like a fighter, like a human but when we go to the cage, I have to maul this guy.”

Highlights from Poirier’s response are below:

On Nurmagomedov saying he has ‘to maul’ Poirier: “This is fighting. I’m going to try to hurt him for 25 minutes. I’m going to try to stop his body from working. That means nothing saying ‘I’m going to maul him’. You’re supposed to. I expect the same from him when I say I’m going to hurt him, I expect the same that he’s going to try to hurt me and take me out. That’s what fighting is. We’re not in there playing tennis. What can a guy say at this point? 40 fights into this crazy thing called mixed martial arts, I don’t care anymore. None of that bothers me anymore.”

On not caring how the fight finishes: “I know what I need to do. I know how long I have to do it — 25 minutes — that’s all I care about.”

On the fight possibly taking place in September: “That’s exactly what I want. Just that. I want to spend a couple months at home training, helping out local guys, friends of mine who fight professionally here in Louisiana. Maybe I’ll take a couple weekend trips up to Florida just to work on some stuff. But I’d really like to lock in July sometime, head up to Florida for the long haul for another camp. We’ll see. This is a crazy sport. Nothing’s certain. I don’t know what month we’re going to fight. I’m hoping that’s the next fight. Dana [White] said it is. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] said it is so that’s what I’m expecting.”