Dustin Poirier explains why he‘s frustrated following knockout loss at UFC 291: “I lost to somebody I think I’m better than”

Dustin Poirier has a reason as to why he is frustrated with his UFC 291 loss to Justin Gaethje.

Poirier entered his UFC 291 headliner against Gaethje for the BMF title coming off a submission win over Michael Chandler. ‘The Diamond’ also entered the bout with a ton of confidence given he had already beat Gaethje by TKO back in 2018. However, in the rematch, it was Gaethje who got his hand raised as he scored a second-round head kick KO.

It was a beautiful setup from Gaethje and it landed perfectly and put Poirier out. Although Dustin Poirier praised ‘The Highlight’ for the way he set up the fight-ending finish, he admits he is frustrated with the result as he feels like he is better than Gaethje.

Dustin Poirier frustrated with UFC 291 loss

Dustin Poirier: “Khabib was better than me. I lost Saturday to somebody I think I’m better than." #TheMMAHour

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“Khabib was better than me. I lost Saturday to somebody I think I’m better than,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour… Yeah, yeah. I was away from home for nine weeks in training camp, you know. I dieted 11 weeks, sacrificed so much, really was really focused, man, was really, really focused, and felt great. The best I’ve ever felt. Honestly, the best I’ve ever felt.”

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As Dustin Poirier points out after he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title, he had no hard feelings as he knew ‘The Eagle’ was better than him. But, even after the defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291, Poirier still believes he is the better fighter and is disappointed that the result doesn’t show that.

With the loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291, Dustin Poirier dropped to 29-8 and one No Contest in the UFC. Prior to that, he beat Michael Chandler by submission to return to the win column after losing to Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. In his career, Poirier also holds notable wins over Conor McGregor, twice, Gaethje, Max Holloway, twice, and Eddie Alvarez among others.