Dustin Poirier believes that Charles do Bronx deserves to be more respected by fans and fighters

C. Bronx (left) defends title against D. Poirier (right) in UFC 269. Photo: SL Montage

UFC Lightweight Champion, Charles of the Bronx defends the category belt for the first time next Saturday (11), in the main fight of the UFC 269. Opponent of the Brazilian, Dustin poirier believes that the belt holder should be more respected by fans and other fighters.

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During his appearance on the podcast “The MMA Hour”, on the “MMA Fighting” website, the lightweight belt challenger praised Charles of the Bronx and poked the former interim champion Justin gaethje, who recently criticized the Brazilian.

“Man, the thing about fighting is that every time the bell rings, we have a real-time assessment. We move from fight to fight. Things happen. We are in different mental spaces. We are in different physical positions, shapes and injuries. A lot happens behind the scenes, but what's beautiful is that every time the gong sounds, it's an assessment in front of the entire world. If we look at his last evaluation (Charles of the Bronx), the guy was injured and showed determination, came back, won the fight and knocked out a former world champion, something that Gaethje was unable to do recently”, analyzed Poirier.

Leaving aside the “trash talk”, so traditional in the world of MMA, Dustin poirier reinforced the desire to dethrone Charles of the Bronx, but showed respect to the current champion.

“He was pressured. He was hurt. He was almost knocked out. The bell sounded, he came back and won the world title. I'm not here to put anyone down or talk trash about other people. Man, people love talking shit about other people. Let's get the guy up. He is the world champion. It's a very difficult task and I'm doing everything in my power to put myself in the position to compete at my best on December 11th for 25 minutes and become world champion, a goal I've had since I was young. That's it. I’m not playing that game”, said the challenger.

Lastly, Dustin poirier reinforced the long trajectory traced by Charles of the Bronx until winning the lightweight gold.

“It’s one thing to come into this organization and work your way to the top, but it’s another thing to do it for a decade like he did. This shows that the guy is a fighter”, concluded Poirier.