A lot of the talk surrounding Dustin Poirier’s best chances of winning the lightweight title at UFC 302 are about his boxing.
Of course, keeping the fight standing against someone like Islam Makhachev will not be easy, not to mention the champion’s always improving striking game.
But if there is one clear area that “The Diamond” has the advantage in, it’s his speed, accuracy, timing and power when letting his hands go.
Makhachev’s head coach Javier Mendez recognised this in a recent interview whilst talking about another key area that Poirier may have an advantage in.
Javier Mendez Says He Isn’t Worried About Dustin Poirier’s Leg Kicks At UFC 302
When asked during an interview on the Weighing In podcast where he feels that Poirier holds any advantages in this fight, Mendez obviously mentioned Poirier’s boxing.
Another one of the challenger’s best weapons is his low calf kick which he then uses to set up his boxing combinations.
These were especially crucial in his previous two fights with Conor McGregor which really showed how Poirier is able to use these two main weapons in unison.
It’s something that Mendez and the coaches are very wary of but they’re not necessarily concerned about ahead of this fight.
The American Kickboxing Academy coach said that Makhachev isn’t an easy target for leg kicks, let alone the potential of him being able to secure a takedown if he catches Poirier off balance.
“Low calf kick is dangerous from him also, very very dangerous because he likes to throw it. But Islam is actually fairly adapt at low calf kicks so it’s not going to be as big a deal unless he catches a good one, which could happen. It could happen but Islam knows how to defend the low calf kick.”
