Dustin Poirier doesn't name Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns as Fight of the Year so far, explains why
Dustin Poirier, in an interview with Daniel Cormier, stated that he saw Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka as the fight of the year as opposed to the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns slugfest.
'The Diamond' gave the UFC 275 light heavyweight clash between Teixeira and Prochazka the edge over Burns vs. Chimaev because of it being a title fight:
"This is a tough one for me man because Gilbert Burns and Chimaev, they put on such a great fight. But I'm giving this award to Glover vs. Jiri because the title was on the line."
Watch Dustin Poirier make his pick for the fight of the year below:
The 33-year-old lightweight explained that the way in which Prochazka pulled off a late win in a fight he was losing added to the fight's merit:
"The swing it took in the fifth round when Glover looked like he was about to, you know, 23 seconds from retaining his belt, to make a mistake and Jiri pulled it off and now Jiri is the world champion. I'm giving that fight of the year."
With a unanimous decision over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, Khamzat Chimaev has catapulted himself to No.3 in the welterweight rankings. The Burns fight is widely regarded as the first time the Russian was tested inside the UFC octagon.
Those Khamzat Chimaev - Gilbert Burns strike totals were crazy close. #ufc273
• Burns outstruck 119-108 in total significant strikes.
• 3rd round razor thin 45-44 Burns in sig strikes https://t.co/GiMNHUbFKC
'Borz' recently called out No.5-ranked contender Belal Muhammad for his next fight.
Khamzat Chimaev calls out Belal Muhammad for an October Clash in Abu Dhabi
UFC sensation Khamzat Chimaev recently called out Belal Muhammad on Twitter for his next fight. 'Borz' promised the American a fight if he doesn't bring the Palestinian flag to the octagon.
🏼I will fight you if you don't take the Palestinian flag into battle @bullyb170 ☝🏼
Muhammad agreed to the Chechen's demands:
"Respect bro ..Il bring a flag for you too and we both fight for Palestine.. I can’t bring the flag down to battlefield anymore even if I wanted to."
@KChimaev Respect bro ..Il bring a flag for you too and we both fight FOR Palestine.. I can’t bring the flag down to battlefield anymore even if I wanted to. But…
دمي فلسطيني 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
'Borz' then suggested an October clash in Abu Dhabi between the two. The 34-year-old welterweight agreed to Chimaev's proposition.
🏼
@bullyb170 October Abu Dhabi 👊🏼💥💯
👊🏻deal twitter.com/KChimaev/statu…
However, Khamzat Chimaev's interest in the fight seems to be dropping. In a recent tweet, the undefeated Russian fighter asked UFC president Dana White to let him fight the No.6-ranked middleweight contender Alex Pereira.
I’m want to fight with this guy @ufc @danawhite let’s make it 👊🏼💥 twitter.com/ufc/status/154…
Even with just four fights in the UFC, the Russian-born Swedish mixed martial artist has seemingly propelled himself to superstardom.