Dustin Poirier Refuses to Review Tape of First UFC Clash With Justin Gaethje
Dustin Poirier believes that rewatching old tape of his first fight with Justin Gaethje is a redundant exercise. The UFC lightweight contender revealed "there's no reason to" review the fight now that he's done it once with his team in Florida.
RELATED: Dustin Poirier on the Nerves & Anxiety of Fighting in the UFC
"The Diamond" is set to rematch Gaethje in the headlining bout of UFC 291 on July 29 for the 'Baddest Motherf***er' (BMF) title. The two UFC stars delivered an all-action spectacle in their first encounter in 2018 and the rematch is heavily anticipated.
During a June 1 interview on "DC & RC", Poirier explained how he doesn't rewatch his first fight with Gaethje ahead of the rematch:
"Like [Gaethje] said, this is a completely different fight [compared to the first]. It's been five years, we've both had our ups and downs, we've both learned a lot, put a lot of camps in, had great teams. This is a completely different fight.
"I watched the previous fight with my team when I got in Florida... I'm not going to watch it again, you know? I'm not going to watch it again, there's no reason to."
Poirier alludes to the fact that both he and Gaethje have changed leaps and bounds since their first fight, which is true.
Gaethje entered a career resurgence after back-to-back losses to Eddie Alvarez and Poirier, subtly changing his style with the help of coach Trevor Wittman.
Justin Gaethje: From Brawler to Measured Counter Puncher
The version of Gaethje that fought Poirier the first time no longer exists, which is why Poirier doesn't review the tape as much. Whilst Gaethje used to take a punch to land one of his own, he's now much more of a measured counter-puncher, able to put on 25 minute clinics on fighters like Tony Ferguson.
In fact, the difference is so significant that Gaethje absorbed 380 fewer strikes in total from James Vick, Edson Barboza, and Donald Cerrone compared to the number he took from Michael Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Poirier.
Gaethje also trimmed down on his output, and landed five times fewer strikes whilst still winning the bouts. So what changed?
"What I've been focused on is not becoming too complacent and not having too much fun out there," Gaethje explained to FloCombat back in 2018, after back-to-back defeats.
"I need to go in there and I need to be scared at all times .... especially when I'm fighting guys in the top-10 of the UFC. Just staying focused, staying vigilant in my positions has really been my focus..."
It's a rematch five years in the making, both men are turning the corner on their physical prime but they've both improved tremendously. On July 29, two of the most dogged fighters in the business put it all on the line for the BMF title.
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