Dustin Poirier became the UFC Interim Lightweight Champion at UFC 236, defeating UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway by unanimous decision.
The win sets up a title unification bout with UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, but the lightweight champion didn’t think that Poirier won the fight, scoring it a draw on his scorecard:
I don’t agree with the judges 49:46, I got a draw, my respect to both fighters, and Porier’s achievement so far cannot be denied, my congratulations Dustin, see you in September. -- vs --
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 14, 2019
All three judges at UFC 236 had scored the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 49-46 in favor of the newly crowned interim lightweight champion.
Poirier does know that a bout with Nurmagomedov is imminent and the interim champion knows that it will take the right amount of crazy to get the job done in that encounter.
“Grit. Determination. The right amount of crazy. Self-belief. Everything it takes to be a champion, I have that,” Poirier said to MMA Junkie.
Nurmagomedov is still serving a nine month suspension for his role in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl, but would be eligible to compete again in September like the champion requested in the tweet.
