Dustin Poirier, that man doesn’t let a guillotine chance slip by. Mike Brown, his coach, knows this all too well. It’s like Poirier’s signature move, even if it often leaves him in a tricky spot on the mat.
At UFC 299, against Benoit St. Denis, Poirier went for that guillotine more times than you could count. Despite his corner, including Brown, advising against it. They were like, “Dustin, maybe not?” But Poirier? He was all in, every time.
Brown shared a little behind-the-scenes action. Apparently, after round one, he was like, “No more guillotines, Dustin.” And what did they show on TV? The other corner. Classic. But here’s the kicker: Poirier just fires back, “No, but I can hit it!” Brown’s response? “You crazy bastard.” And off Poirier went, diving for another guillotine.
Despite never sealing the deal with a guillotine in the Octagon, Poirier’s a beast with it in training. Brown says he’s put plenty of folks to sleep with it during sparring. It’s a bit of a gym legend.
The guillotine saga isn’t new, though. Brown was on edge during Poirier’s brawl with Dan Hooker. Those guillotine jumps had Brown sweating bullets. If Poirier got stuck, he’d lose. But, somehow, Poirier kept turning those risky moves into opportunities, keeping us all on the edge of our seats.
Poirier’s closest call with the guillotine came against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. Khabib admitted he let Poirier think he had a chance with the choke, all part of his strategy. Now, Poirier’s eyeing another shot at glory, this time against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302.
Brown’s got faith in Poirier. He sees him as a champ, title or not. Poirier’s already proven himself, but snagging that official UFC title? That’s the dream. And Brown believes, maybe, just maybe, that guillotine could be the key.