Dustin Poirier doubts former UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will compete again at 155 pounds.
Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) vacated his title for a move up to 170 pounds and will challenge welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the UFC 322 headliner Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Poirier, who was submitted by Makhachev at UFC 302 last June, isn’t sure if Makhachev will be capable of going back down to his longtime weight class after putting the size on for welterweight.
“It’s going to depend on whether he wins or loses, but it’s not easy to put on the weight – he’s already a very solid lightweight fighter,” Poirier told MMA Junkie of Makhachev. “To have the freedom to bulk up and put on more muscle and fill out your frame the way your body wants to be, to go back down to 155, it’s going to take some time, I think, to really be at a calorie deficiency and lose some of the muscle he’s putting on.
“I know for a fact he doesn’t make 155 easy, so now it’s going to be even tougher. He could be completely done at lightweight. It might be too hard for his body to get back down and compete at that level because he’s not a small guy at all.”
Poirier thinks once Makhachev makes the walk, people will realize that any lightweight talk is a thing of the past.
“I think when we see him there across from another welterweight, he’s going to feel the part,” Poirier said. “He’s going to look like a welterweight fighter. He’s a big guy, and I’m excited about that fight. If JDM’s takedown defense holds up, and he makes Islam have to be in front of him, it could be a long night. But that’s so much easier said than done when these guys are on your body and on your legs.”
