UFC 302 could be the last time we see one of the most entertaining fighters of all-time in action.

Dustin Poirier was a diamond in the rough living up to his nickname as soon as he first stepped foot in the WEC cage in 2010. Although it was a brief two-fight stint for Louisiana’s finest on the blue canvas, Poirier made waves at 145 pounds in the UFC crossing over through the WEC acquisition. Eventually making his way to lightweight, Poirier cemented himself as a must-see TV.

One of the few legendary fighters to never hold undisputed gold, Poirier gets his third opportunity to make that dream a reality at UFC 302 this Saturday night. Poirier, 35, will challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev as a comfortable underdog. The role is nothing new for Poirier, and despite that, his fellow iconic underdog, the former middleweight champion Michael Bisping, believes he’s amassed a stronger resume than the titleholder.

“When you look at the record of Dustin Poirier and you compare it to Islam Makhachev’s, Dustin’s record smokes Islam’s,” Bisping said on Believe You Me. ��Which sounds like I’m being disrespectful to Islam. I’m not, but when you look at Islam, yeah, fought Bobby Green then it was for the belt against [Charles] Oliveira. Twice against [Alexander] Volkanovski.

“When you look at Poirier, I mean, it’s insane. Max Holloway multiple times. Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Conor McGregor three times, Jim Miller, Dan Hooker, Oliveira, [Michael] Chandler, Gaethje again, Benoit Saint Denis. In terms of experience, he’s fought the tougher guys. I think that’s fair to say. Now, competition in common, Islam beat Charles Oliveira whereas Dustin lost.”

Poirier has consistently mentioned how any fight could be his last since his previous title shot. “The Diamond” sought gold against Oliveira at UFC 269 in December 2021 when he came up short via a third-round rear-naked choke — the same result as his first attempt against Khabib Nurmagomedov two years earlier.

Bisping made good on his eventual first career title shot but it came after a lengthy run as a perennial Top 10 contender on short notice in an arguably undeserved manner. It was next man up for both Bisping and Poirier and they were up to the task.

Whether or not Poirier can replicate Bisping’s incredible upset against his rival Luke Rockhold remains to be seen. Bisping was ready to call it a career if his championship reign wasn’t meant to be at age 37. He’d fight three more times before retirement and believes Poirier would have to keep going for at least one title defense if he too can defy the odds.

“I think if he wins, he’s gonna defend that belt,” Bisping said of Poirier’s potential retirement. “I mean, I had the eye issue. [My wife] Rebecca said, ‘Right, okay, so you finally got your title fight, are you gonna retire win or lose?’ I’m like, ‘Babe, if I lose, I’ll retire. If I win, you’re out of your goddamn mind. We’re getting the big bucks.’

“So, I think if Dustin pulls it off, I think we’ll see him stick around. If he loses then that will be a great time and the perfect send-off. It would be emotional because Dustin’s given the sport so much. He’s been a fantastic ambassador and he’s fought with nothing but his heart and soul.”

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TOP STORIES

Worrisome. Mike Tyson ‘doing great’ after pre-flight medical scare, Jake Paul responds

Morning. Tom Aspinall: Officials not open to changing wonky UFC 304 local start time

Matchup. Dustin Poirier’s head coach details similarities, differences between Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov

Contention. Cory Sandhagen rooting for Sean O’Malley to beat Merab Dvalishvili, breaks down matchup

Spider. Anderson Silva’s coach praises him as ‘a heavyweight that moves like a lightweight’ ahead of Chael Sonnen fight

Confidence. PFL star Dakota Ditcheva confident she can beat Alexa Grasso or Valentina Shevchenko for UFC title

Gold. Anthony Smith: Dustin Poirier has to make Islam Makhachev ‘nervous’ to win at UFC 302

Hindsight. Ronda Rousey feels unwelcome to UFC events: ‘I gave them everything I had, and it wasn’t enough’

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LET’S WATCH

UFC 302 Embedded.

Fight Check: Steve Aoki.

Seanbedded 2.

Volk on 302.

War Room: Makhachev vs. Poirier.

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LISTEN UP

On To the Next One. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alex K. Lee discuss if Conor McGregor will fight again in 2024 after UFC 303.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Jorts!

Prep.

Someone take his phone away.

Imagine...

Daaaaaaamn.

Art.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Karl Williams (10-1) vs. Jhonata Diniz (7-0); UFC Vegas 95, Aug. 10

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FINAL THOUGHTS

The Islam record spotlighting sure died down drastically after he became champion, and rightfully so. I believe level of competition is one of the most important assessment factors in a fighter’s ability, which should be fair, right? However, some fighters transcend that off their very evident skill. Makhachev is one of those at this point, but if he does fall to an upset, you just know that would then be in question. I guess it would depend on how, though. Should be a fun night,

Thanks for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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