Eric Nicksick gives Dustin Poirier ‘very good chance’ against ‘boogeyman’ Islam Makhachev at UFC 302

Eric Nicksick will be cornering Sean Strickland in his co-main event bout against Paulo Costa this Saturday at UFC 302 in Newark, but in the next fight, Dustin Poirier will look to do what Strickland did eight months ago — pull off a massive upset as a challenger.

Poirier has the chance to cash in on, what will likely be, his final title shot when he challenges Islam Makhachev. While Makhachev is a massive favorite, and is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world right now, Nicksick believes that Poirier’s veteran savvy and trickiness could provide some intense drama inside the octagon this Saturday.

“Here’s what intrigues me the most, man — it’s the southpaw vs. southpaw matchup,” Nicksick told MMA Fighting. “I think Poirier does a very good job when he fights other southpaws, which is kind of rare because southpaws tend to have a better advantage over an orthodox fighter because, most of all, that’s what they see. But when it’s a southpaw vs. southpaw matchup — I remember breaking it down when he fought Conor [McGregor] in Abu Dhabi. I thought the calf kick was going to be a very important part for Poirier, and he did it, he utilized it, because that closed stance now fits southpaw vs. southpaw.

“There’s some things that he does that are pretty tricky with that stance, plus he flows ... and we actually have a move [in the gym] called the Poirier because of some of the stuff he does off of southpaw low kicks, into orthodox stances and roll-throughs. I think he can find Islam. I think he’s got a very good chance to win this fight. I think that bad taste in his mouth after losing to Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I think this could be one of those redemption tours for him.

“Never count this man out. We saw what he did in his last outing, and I think he’s got a very good opportunity to win this fight, I think he’s very well coached. But, I mean, Islam is the boogeyman right now, so it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.”

Less then a year ago, Poirier fighting for the lightweight title seemed nearly impossible after a knockout loss at UFC 291 for the BMF title, followed by booking a fight against surging contender Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299. But Poirier dug deep and knocked out Saint Denis to pull off a sizable upset and punch his ticket to his third undisputed title shot.

As Nicksick has seen over the years, when it comes to fighters like Poirier, the door could close, but it never locks.

“Here’s a guy who comes off of a head kick knockout by Justin Gaethje, then wins a fight that [in a lot of people’s minds he] wasn’t supposed to win, and now he’s in a title fight,” Nicksick said. “How fast the pace turns in MMA, and now we’re talking about him possibly having the opportunity to upset Islam Makhachev. It’s so crazy how fast MMA moves.”

Makhachev has looked nearly unbeatable over the past several years, including when he captured the lightweight title with a submission of Charles Oliveira in 2022. After a close decision over then-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski in early 2023, Makhachev delivered a highlight-reel knockout of Volkanovski eight months later at UFC 294.

Now, entering his first appearance of 2024, and doing so as a sizable favorite, Nicksick sees more than vibes leaning in Poirier’s favor.

“I tend to lean towards this being, not necessarily an even matchup, but I do tend to lean towards the dog money on some of these fights,” Nicksick said.