Dustin Poirier will soon take on Charles Oliveira for the UFC’s lightweight title, at UFC 269. While working to improve his skillset even further, Poirier also ended up being a guest on the Valuetainment Podcast – where he, among other things, spoke about going against Khabib Nurmagomedov… As well as about his grappling genius.

Khabib Nurmagomedov…I’ve never felt anything like it and you know I have 46 fights. I’ve fought all kinds of different people , all kinds of different styles and been around the world training at gyms. This guy is good. His understanding of his weight distribution, where my weight needs to be to keep me up, to build back up and his understanding of grappling is impressive.

The best I’ve ever felt, the best I’ve ever seen… His understanding of what I needed to do and what positions I needed to be in to advance. He was steps ahead of me.

Check it out here:

In a separate interview, Poirier explained how it truly felt like to go against Nurmagomedov:

[Khabib did] not feel super strong. None of these guys that I’ve fought felt too strong, like overwhelming… But it was just that his position and his balance was so good. He knew where my weight was, where it needed to be [in order] to get in a better position. He is just so advanced. And his feet are like hands… His foot sweeps and the way he braces you down is… It’s just good. Yeah, he’s good. So good.
And nothing feels forced. It’s like he’s gentle, almost.

I mean, I got smothered. And my goal was to turn that into a fight. For it to be a fight… And he just smothered me and kinda did what he does.
I couldn’t, I couldn’t stop it. [Even though] I’ve been grappling for a long time.

Master The Art Of “Smeshing” With The Sambo-Hybrid Fighting System Of Khabib Nurmagomedov, The Iconic Undefeated UFC Champion Who Shows How He Dominated The Field In MMA With Revolutionary Ground Skills.

• Learn standing techniques, control and submissions on the ground, and even some of Khabib’s revolutionary cage work on this 3-part series.
• See how Khabib closes distance with strikes to set up takedowns, his tips on shooting, and using single legs, body locks, and more.