UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has added motivation to pull off an upset against Khabib Nurmagomedov next weekend thanks to his daughter.
The 30-year-old admits the birth of his little girl Parker, 3, has put fighting into perspective.
Poirier revealed that he is determined to give his daughter "the opportunities" he didn't have and secure what would be a historic victory in Abu Dhabi on September 7
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"Yes, for sure it's motivation, I have another mouth to feed." he said.
"I want her to be taken care of in the future. I want her college to be paid for. I want for her to have opportunities I didn't have, and I can do that with my hands. I can do that with my dedication and focus to combat sports. And that's a blessing to have these opportunities, and to be healthy, and chase this dream that I'm running after.
"But it just puts - honestly, it puts fighting into perspective for me.
"Before I had my daughter, everything about me was fighting. That's what I - and it is still that a lot to this day, that's how I make a living and that's my life's work is mixed martial arts.
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"But at the end of the day, it's just a fight, and no matter what happens in any fight that I'm involved in, I'm still a dad when I get home, and that kind of helps take the pressure off of fighting for me. I'm always going to be this girl's dad, and she's always going to be waiting for me, win, lose or draw.
"It's helped me out a lot. It's put fighting into perspective."
Poirier didn't hesitate when predicting his UFC title fight against undefeated champion Khabib last week, saying he'll become the first man to defeat the Russian fighter.
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"I keep going back and forth," the veteran American fighter said ahead of their September 7 bout. "I feel like I can submit Khabib, but feel like I'm going to stop him. I don't know how it's going to happen, but I'm either going to knock him out or I'm going to submit him. I'm going to finish Khabib Nurmagomedov.
"Of course, it's a huge danger. I don't want this guy to get on top of me and start pulling away with rounds. We only have five of them. If you let a guy lay on you for three, you need a finish. That's not what I'm trying to do in there.
"I'm not worried about his takedowns so much. I need to hurt this guy. That's a huge part of this training camp. Putting myself in good positions to win the rounds and win the fight. Staying off the fence. Getting up off the ground. But, at the same time, I need to do what I do.
"I have the opportunity to make history and do something that's never been done. I'm embracing that... I'm just excited that I put myself in this position and that I have an opportunity to show the world how great I am on the biggest scale possible and unify these belts. Make history - that's what this is about."
Do you think Poirier can beat the undefeated Nurmagomedov next weekend and secure unification?
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Let us know in the comments.
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Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, UFC 242, UFC News, UFC
