At only 30 years of age, Dustin Poirier is already a 10-year veteran of the sport and an eight-year veteran of the UFC. Poirier has paid his dues with disappointing defeats whenever he was drawing close to a title shot and he has gone through the toil of five Fight of the Nights for a hard-earned 24-5 MMA record. And it is only now that Dustin Poirier is receiving, albeit interim, a title shot at UFC 236 against Max Holloway, and according to Coach Mike Brown, the timing could not be better:
“I think it’s the perfect time,” Brown told MMA Junkie. “I’m glad it took this long. Maybe he could’ve won the belt a year or two ago, but I’m really glad he’s had this time to mature and really come into his own. He’s found his game, found his own. He’s had a great career, some amazing fights, but every time he’s lost he’s made the right corrections. He’s gone back and analyzed it and come back much, much stronger. Now he’s without a doubt at his absolute prime. He’s a monster.”
The timing is on target for Dustin Poirier, Brown believes, and that includes the opponent:
“Everybody who has beat Max has put him on the floor at least once,” Brown said. “That probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. But Dustin’s game is to come forward and to crack you. He hits hard with both hands, and it doesn’t go away. He can hit just as hard in the fifth as he can in the first.
“We’ve always known that he was going to be a monster in five-rounders. We couldn’t wait for him to start getting main events and five rounders. That’s where he’s really going to excel, and it’s showing.”
Brown would then outline precisely how he envisions Poirier getting his hand raised in the UFC 236 curtain call this Saturday night:
“I think he beats him with pressure,” he said. “I think he beats him with superior punching power and pressure. … He hits hard with both hands, kicks hard with both legs, his gas tank is as good as it gets, and he knows how to use it. He can pressure anybody and take anybody out.”
Do you agree with Coach Brown? Is this the right time and the right opponent for Dustin Poirier to become a champion?
