Dustin Poirier gives major update on nose injury suffered against Islam Makhachev: "I can't breathe"
Dustin Poirier is still recovering from his last octagon encounter. Poirier recently opened up about his nose injury sustained against Islam Makhachev. Poirier challenged Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title in the main event of UFC 302, marking his third attempt at UFC gold.
The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, hosted the sixth pay-per-view event of the year on June 1. Despite an impressive performance from both fighters, Makhachev retained his lightweight title by submitting Poirier with a D'Arce choke in the final round.
During his press conference interview following the fight, Poirier talked about the future of his fighting career, including his recovery from the injuries sustained. The current No.4-ranked lightweight contender told the media he thinks a head-on collision early in the fight damaged his nose:
''I'm not sure if a punch shattered my nose or if it was a headbutt, 'cause we did collide heads in the middle of the octagon that flashed me, so I didn't feel where the pain was... My nose is shattered for sure. I've had a couple of nose surgeries already... I just hope I don't have to go through that process again, but I feel like the bone is not where it should be."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below:
In answer to a fan's question regarding Poirier's nose, he went to X and responded:
''It's all good just...I can't breathe and it's shaped like a u-turn''
Poirier has been placed on medical leave due to his heroic performance at UFC 302. 'The Diamond' was given an extended medical suspension because of an undisclosed knee issue, according to MMA Junkie.
This could be the case because Poirier did mention having some ACL damage during the press conference following the bout. He was also given an additional, indefinite suspension due to a fractured nose.
Dustin Poirier was already injured before the fight against Islam Makhachev
Despite losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, Dustin Poirier won over the crowd by keeping the fight close. Yves Edwards, a close friend and training partner of 'The Diamond' at American Top Team, disclosed that an injury prevented him from grappling for several weeks before the title fight.
'Thugjitsu Master', in an interview with RJ Clifford of the MMA Today podcast, said:
''The way he performed on Saturday night, that was super impressive to me. And nobody knows this and he's probably going to be like, 'Why'd you put that out there?' I know Makhachev was also not 100 percent. Nobody goes into a fight 100 percent, but he hurt his ribs like two weeks before the fight and hadn't wrestled or grappled for two and a half weeks."
Check out Yves Edwards' comments below: