Islam Makhachev (left) and Dustin Poirier (right)(image via UFC / YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Leading up to UFC 302, there was speculation Islam Makhachev was battling a staph infection, and it looks like Dustin Poirier wasn’t 100% for their recent fight.

Poirier faced Makhachev in the headliner of the June 1st event, and was ultimately submitted in the final round of the bout. Since then, American Top Team coach and Poirier’s friend, Yves Edwards, spoke with “MMA Today”.

During the segment, the retired fighter reported that Poirier was unable to grapple and wrestling the final weeks of his training camp, due to a rib injury (quotes via MMA Fighting.com).

“The way he performed on Saturday night, that was super impressive to me,” Edwards said. “Nobody knows this and he probably is gonna be like, ‘Man, why’d you put that out there?’ But like, I know Makhachev was also not 100 percent, nobody goes into a fight 100 percent, but he hurt his ribs two weeks before the fight and hadn’t wrestled or grappled for two and a half weeks. I probably shouldn’t [say that], but to me it’s so impressive against that guy. Against somebody else, it wouldn’t matter. Against that guy, Islam, man, you wrestled like that against that guy with hurt ribs. I’m impressed.”

Makhachev controlled the opening round after taking Poirier down. But, throughout the fight, the latter was able to defend 9 of the champion’s 16 takedown attempts.

“That’s really damn good. I love it,” Edwards said while discussing Poirier’s defensive wrestling in the fight. “No [the ribs weren’t healed by fight night]. It wasn’t like, ‘I can’t fight,’ but it’s something you kind of have to work around, right? Everybody that’s stepped into the octagon more than once, as many times as Dustin, there’s so many times that you’ve stepped in there with something you have to work around.”

Following the fight, the 35-year-old Poirier stopped short of announcing his retirement. But, the former interim lightweight champ did say the bout may have been his last.

Poirier (30-9) was coming off a knockout win over Benoit Saint Denis in March and is 2-3 in his last 5 contests.

UFC 302 took place in Newark, New Jersey.