"The prince who never became king," "Only time I bought PPV" - Fans react to Dustin Poirier's post on Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev fights

Dustin Poirier was unsuccessful in his third attempt to become the undisputed lightweight champion earlier this month as he lost to Islam Makhachev via fifth-round submission in the main event of UFC 302. 'The Diamond' had previously challenged Khabib Nurmagomedov - at UFC 242 in 2019 - and Charles Oliveira - at UFC 269 in 2021 - for the title, losing both bouts via third-round submission.

The No.4-ranked lightweight shared photos to Instagram, captioning the post:

"Been Toe 2 Toe with the best of em' #PaidInFull #ElDiamante"

Check out Dustin Poirier's Instagram post below:

Fans shared their reaction to the post, with @will_lovelace09 labeling Poirier as a prince who never was able to become the king:

"The Prince that never became king 💎 👑"

@joshbobo36 claimed that he only purchased pay-per-view cards when 'The Diamond' was competing:

"Only time I bought PPV was to watch Dustin fight. Always knew it was going to be worth the money regardless if he won or not."

@brandon.embree believes the No. 4-ranked lightweight will be a UFC Hall of Famer regardless of the belt:

"There was a interview with Dustin where he wasn't sure if he would make it into the Hall of Fame if he didn't win the belt. Such a humble dude. It was so cool to see the mma community come together to route for him against Islam. I have 0 doubt he will be in the Hall of Fame"

@cooperking2026 labeled him as the top-three lightweight of all time:

"One of the greatest to ever do it and your a top 3 lightweight ever idc what others say 💎"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

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Dustin Poirier entered UFC 302 with an injury

Dustin Poirier was unable to get past Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, losing the bout via fifth-round submission. His takedown defense against one of the best wrestlers in the sport, however, was applauded by fans as he stuffed 11 of 16 takedown attempts and was mostly able to get back to his feet.

Yves Edwards, a long-time friend and training partner of 'The Diamond' at American Top Team, revealed that he could not grapple for several weeks leading up to the bout due to an injury. Speaking to RJ Clifford of the MMA Today podcast, 'Thugjitsu Master' stated:

"The way he performed on Saturday night, that was super impressive to me. And nobody knows this and he's probably going to be like, 'Why'd you put that out there?' I know Makhachev was also not 100 percent. Nobody goes into a fight 100 percent, but he hurt his ribs like two weeks before the fight and hadn't wrestled or grappled for two and a half weeks."

Check out Yves Edwards' full comments on Dustin Poirier's rib injury below:

Edwards added that he was very impressed with Poirier due to his performance against a fighter as talented as Makhachev. It remains unclear if 'The Diamond' will continue fighting or walk away from mixed martial arts.