Dustin Poirier responds to Khabib saying he’s going to maul him: We’re not here to play tennis

Bloodyelbow.com

Dustin Poirier knows a thing or two about maulings, having battered the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway enroute to winning the interim UFC lightweight title at UFC 236.

That’s why, when reigning lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov said he was going to ‘maul’ Poirier in their proposed title unification bout, ‘The Diamond’ wasn’t even remotely fazed. In Poirier’s world, mauling is part of the game.

Speaking to MMA Weekly’s Damon Martin in a recent interview, newly-crowned interim champ Poirier said he didn’t take Khabib’s comments personally. This isn’t a game of tennis, after all.

“This is fighting. I’m going to try to hurt him for 25 minutes. I’m going to try to stop his body from working,” Poirier said. “That means nothing saying ‘I’m going to maul him’. You’re supposed to. I expect the same from him when I say I’m going to hurt him, I expect the same that he’s going to try to hurt me and take me out. That’s what fighting is.

“We’re not in there playing tennis. What can a guy say at this point? 40 fights into this crazy thing called mixed martial arts, I don’t care anymore. None of that bothers me anymore.”

Poirier says the UFC hasn’t yet booked a date for the matchup but the Louisianan expects to lock horns with Nurmagomedov some time in September.

“That’s exactly what I want,” Poirier said about fighting in September. “Just that. I want to spend a couple months at home training, helping out local guys, friends of mine who fight professionally here in Louisiana. Maybe I’ll take a couple weekend trips up to Florida just to work on some stuff. But I’d really like to lock in July sometime, head up to Florida for the long haul for another camp.

“We’ll see. This is a crazy sport. Nothing’s certain. I don’t know what month we’re going to fight. I’m hoping that’s the next fight. Dana [White] said it is. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] said it is so that’s what I’m expecting.”

Expect an official announcement from the UFC in the coming weeks.