Dustin Poirier will always be remembered as the guy who stopped Conor McGregor twice during six months in 2021. How did their height and reach compare? And what advantage does Poirier have against reigning champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302?
Known as the Diamond, Dustin Poirier slept Conor McGregor during the UFC 257 main event on 24 January 2021 in Abu Dhabi. The two fought again on 10 July 2021, in the headliner of UFC 264 in Las Vegas with Poirier scoring another KO win over McGregor.
McGregor boasts a height and reach advantage over the American, but through a combination of high strikes and low kicks, Poirier was able to destabilise McGregor, disrupting the Irish fighter’s movement and compromising his ability to generate power in his punches.
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Currently, Poirier is the No.4 ranked lightweight in the UFC and he is scheduled to challenge for the UFC lightweight title against reigning champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 on June 1, 2024, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The bout will mark Poirier’s third crack at the 155-pound gold. Previously, he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 and tapped out against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.
The 35-year-old from Lafayette, Louisiana stands 5″9 tall and is an inch taller than the average height of UFC lightweights which sits at 5″8.
Against Makhachev, Poirier will be facing an opponent who is three inches taller than him. Fighting against taller men, however, is no tall order for the Diamond as he has a long history of fighting (and defeating) bigger opponents throughout his career.
Conversely, Poirier boasts a superior reach of 72 inches (183 cm) to Makhachev, who only has 70 inches (178 cm).
Poirier was one inch shorter when he knocked out former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in 2017. He was three inches shorter than Max Holloway whom he decisioned at UFC 236 to win the interim UFC lightweight belt. In his last bout, Poirier also conceded three inches in height to Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis.
However, it’s also worth noting that all three of Poirier’s losses came against opponents who were taller than him. Both Oliveira and Makhachev are both listed as 5″10. Meanwhile, 5″11 Justin Gaethje knocked out Poirier at UFC 291.