American Top Team strength and conditioning coach Phil Daru broke down the gameplan for Dustin Poirier against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.
Daru dropped into the Pull No Punches podcast with Kajan Johnson and Shakiel Mahjouri ahead of the UFC lightweight title unification bout between Nurmagomedov and Poirier. Daru explained what role strength and conditioning plays in perfecting the formula to beat “The Eagle.”
“You have to have impeccable energy and you have to have movement qualities. His ability to move in and out of the pocket, changing directions, causing angles to evade some of the takedowns, and then -- when he gets taken down or if he gets takedown -- he needs to be strong with his hips and inside the clinch,” Daru shared.