Former UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has revealed how grappling wore him out against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.
“Did I feel like I was about to finish it in the first round? It’s hard to say,” Poirier said in a conversation with The MMA Hour. “I shook him, I got blows. I thought there were four rounds ahead and I would hit hard again and again until I was out. But this did not happen.
I remember my corner telling me that all direct punches land, that you just can’t miss with a left… In the third round, I felt that my shoulders were tired. I wasn’t tired myself, but my shoulders throbbed. Because I’m not used to holding another fighter with my arms for five minutes straight.
Usually I go out after the finish line, I go out to create space. And here I had to keep him in the guard, knock down his posture. Shoulders tired, I remember, before the start of the third round, I just thought about it. It slowed me down, I threw either a sluggish hook or an overhand, he changed levels and pinned me into a hold. I was slower than usual because of my shoulders».
On December 11, Poirier lost to Charles Oliveira via rear naked choke at UFC 269.
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