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Khabib: I’m impressed with Dustin Poirier, but ‘I have to maul him’

UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier impressed a great majority of fight fans during his performance at UFC 236 against featherweight champion Max Holloway. Among those tuned in was shelved 155-pound champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Khabib says he was impressed enough with Poirier’s showing that night, and agrees that “The Diamond” is indeed the next in line for a shot at his title.

“I think it was a very good performance from Dustin Poirier,” Khabib told Megan Olivi backstage at UFC St. Petersburg on Saturday. “Honestly, before the fight, I though Holloway was going to beat him. This was my prediction when I talked with friends, with my father, with my team.