UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has pledged to take home the gold when he faces on Khabib Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi at UFC 242.

The interim champ takes on the undefeated Nurmagomedov at the Yas Arena and has been chronicling his training camp on social media.

Poirier, a veteran of a 30-fight professional career, 22 of those in the UFC, is undefeated in his last six fights, and has lost only once in his last 11.

Confidence is clearly high in ‘The Diamond’s’ camp with him declaring this week that he will be taking the title home on September 7.

He then doubled down on the claim on Twitter….

Getting philosophical

He’s even been getting a little philosophical about it all, quoting Sun Tzu. If anyone knows about perseverance though, it’s Poirier.

He has suffered a number of setbacks in the UFC – including four defeats – two of which came against fighters Khabib has beaten, Conor McGregor and Michael Johnson.

Written off, the now 30-year-old Diamond has continued to develop and is now at the peak of his powers, and fully deserving of this title shot.

Working the cardio

Khabib fights at a relentless, smothering pace, and if Poirier is going to hang with the Dagestan native then his cardio will have to be on point.

If things go to the floor Khabib will be confident of heaping pressure on Poirier with his wrestling. In that position, the worst case scenario for Khabib will be to take some of the wind out of Poirier’s sails, so the American’s gas tank is going to have to be at full capacity.

Keep it on the feet

It goes without saying that Poirier will want to keep this fight standing. Khabib has already commended his opponent on his stand-up game, and this is clearly the best route to victory for the challenger.

While it can be easy in camp to concentrate on Khabib and the dangers of his takedowns and how to quash them, it will also be key for Poirier to hone the weapons that have got him to this level in the first place.

The Eagle sharpens his talons 

Khabib is a fighting machine. Drilled and hardened, his focus on September 7 remains unwavering.