“It’s just death row,” Dustin Poirier gets huge praise for underrated resume from UFC champ Robert Whittaker

Robert Whittaker praises veteran Dustin Poirier for having taken on the who's who of UFC's 155-pound division en route to a stellar run.

“It’s just death row,” Dustin Poirier gets huge praise for underrated resume from UFC champ Robert Whittaker

Robert Whittaker lauds Dustin Poirier going up agaisnt who's who of UFC 155-pounders (Source: X/IMAGO)

Dustin Poirier’s last matchup was another failed bid at the UFC 155-pound gold. Now, the Louisiana lightweight is looking for one last dance before he can hang it up. Meanwhile, middleweight Robert Whittaker is fresh off a hard loss, which could have hoisted him to 185-pound top contender status. Now, he’s looking for a way back in. On seasoned crossroads at their careers, Whittaker finds ‘Diamond’ a fighter to behold.

Robert Whittaker considered Dustin Poirier a problem for 155-pound king Islam Makhachev’s style, and he was. Poirier dug deep, and his standup left a mark on the champ before he ended it with a round-five submission (D’Arce choke) – around the 2:42 mark. Poirier also voted ‘Reaper’ to win at UFC 308 next. Even recently, Whittaker lauded the lightweight veteran for going through a murderer’s row of a convoluted pack of 155-pounders.

I think the lightweight division is the most exciting division right now, …I think it’s just a, a…uh. death row…you know what I was looking at just before this episode,…uhm, Dustin Poirier’s fight record; it is wild. It’s just death row. So good to see…like, the top 5 they got up right now, they’re just killers, man.

Robert Whittaker on the ‘MMArcade’ Podcast (🎥: @MMArcadePodcast)

Poirier has been doing it since 2009, since USA MMA 7: River City Rampage. He has accumulated a bright and stout 30-9-0 (1 NC) record in his pro tenure. To that end, Whittaker is spot-on in the talent pool at 155 pounds. Poirier deserves his fame and credentials; the last 5 opponents of the former lightweight interim champ are a who’s who of 155-pounders. These have included berserker Benoît Saint-Denis, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, and Charles Oliveira.

On the flip side, Team Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Smeaton Grange’s Whittaker is a neat 3-2 in his last five. His losses came to current middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. So, if anyone has the bragging rights for it after a climb up, it’d very much be him. He also once had prime advice about Poirier’s “gilly silly” stint ad attitude.

After UFC 299 PPV win, Robert Whittaker shared hilarious ‘guillotine’ outtake for Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier opted for the guillotine a number of times in his UFC 299 PPV co-main event against Saint-Denis. Subsequently, it prompted a reaction from Robert Whittaker. The UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera 2 PPV event in Miami was his last big win. Saint-Denis put staggering pressure on ‘The Diamond’ from the get-go, and both put on a thriller. Poirier would eventually knock the Frenchman out in the second round with a vicious right.

Robert Whittaker advised Dustin Poirier against the gilly
Robert Whittaker advised Dustin Poirier against the gilly (Source: X)

It so happened that Poirier found surprising with a jump for a guillotine favorable and stuck to it, again and again. Matter of fact, he did go against the corner prescribing a different methodology. While reacting to Poirier’s win in a recent episode of the ‘MMArcade’ podcast, Whittaker quipped him to stop spamming his opponents with guillotines.

The only thing I will say is – please stop jumping on guillotines. I respect him [going for guillotine chokes] but dude, when I was watching it every time he was jumping, I was liks, No! Don’t blow your arms out, man…

Robert Whittaker said

Going into round two, Whittaker said he knew he could confidently say who was going to win. To his point, ‘God of War’ Saint-Denis went hard and could not crack him. Consequently, when untracked, Poirier bounces back like a storm. Time and time again, UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier has proven difficult to beat in a battle of attrition. He proved his mettle at UFC 299 when he closed distance and rained hell.

Currently, Poirier is scouting another such robust battle to see his way out of the MMA game. MMA documents show a meeting of the Louisiana State Boxing & Wrestling Commission in September. Since the 2015 Fight Night headliner, the brass has yet to return there. A fight in his home turf would be one for the ages.

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