Dustin Poirier Reveals Islam Makhachev’s Massive Fight-Night Weight; The Champion Responds Instantly!
Dustin Poirier challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship at UFC 302 back in June 2024. The fight took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey with massive expectations. Poirier entered as a beloved veteran seeking his first undisputed UFC title after years of coming close. Makhachev defended his belt successfully by submitting Poirier in the fifth round with a D’arce choke. The Louisiana native retired shortly after and walked away as one of the greatest lightweights to never win an undisputed title.
Nearly two years have passed since that fight, but the size difference still generates discussion. Dustin Poirier revealed Islam Makhachev’s massive fight-night weight during a recent Joe Rogan podcast appearance. The retired fighter made some shocking claims about how much the champion weighed on fight night.
Dustin Poirier Drops Bombshell Weight Claims On Rogan’s Podcast
Dustin Poirier sat down with Joe Rogan recently and discussed various topics from his fighting career. The conversation naturally turned toward weight cutting and rehydration practices in modern MMA. Fighters regularly cut significant amounts of water weight to make championship limits. Then they rehydrate aggressively between weigh-ins and fight night to regain size and strength advantages.
Poirier revealed he recently visited Hunter Campbell’s office at UFC headquarters in Las Vegas. Campbell serves as the UFC’s Chief Business Officer and handles various operational responsibilities. During their conversation, they discussed Poirier’s fight against Makhachev at UFC 302. Campbell apparently shared fight-night weight data that the promotion tracks but doesn’t publicly release for all fighters.
“Islam is huge. I was in his [Hunter’s] office not too long ago, and they keep records of all the fight-night weights. They don’t release them all, but they keep them. We were talking about the Islam fight, and he told me his weight, and I was like, ‘That’s insane…192 pounds, I think, something like 190, 191, somewhere around there. I was 176.”
That represents a staggering 37-pound difference between the two fighters on fight night. Both men weighed exactly 155 pounds at the official weigh-ins less than 24 hours earlier. If Poirier’s numbers are accurate, Makhachev gained roughly 37 pounds through rehydration in one day. That’s an absolutely massive amount of weight to add back after an extreme cut.
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Islam Makhachev Fires Back Immediately On Social Media
Islam Makhachev (28-1) didn’t wait long to respond after clips from Poirier’s Rogan interview started circulating online. The reigning lightweight and welterweight champion took to his Telegram channel to dispute the allegations directly. Makhachev flatly denied ever weighing more than 80 kilograms, which converts to approximately 176 pounds.
“I’ve never weighed more than 80 kg [176 pounds], ever.”
Makhachev’s denial creates an interesting situation where someone is clearly wrong about these numbers. Either Poirier misremembered what Hunter Campbell told him, or Campbell provided inaccurate information. The other possibility is that Makhachev is downplaying his actual fight-night weight for competitive reasons.
Supporting Makhachev’s side of this debate is his weigh-in data from UFC 311 seven months after fighting Poirier. He weighed 178 pounds on fight night against Renato Moicano in January 2025. That’s only 23 pounds above the lightweight limit and nowhere near the 192 pounds Poirier claimed. Even in his fight against Jack Della Maddalena at the 170 lb limit, he weighed in at 189 lbs..
Whether Poirier exaggerated the numbers or Makhachev is being truthful doesn’t change the fight’s outcome. Makhachev submitted Poirier convincingly in the fifth round regardless of weight advantages. But these accusations add another layer to ongoing discussions about weight cutting in combat sports.
(Image Credit: DAZN)
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