The debate around Islam Makhachev’s size isn’t new, but Dustin Poirier just gave it fresh life with numbers that caught everyone’s attention. During a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, the former interim lightweight champion revisited his UFC 302 clash with Makhachev and described a physical gap that went far beyond what fans usually expect at 155 pounds.

For context, Poirier made it to the fifth round before getting submitted, but even in that competitive fight, he says the difference in size was obvious from the opening seconds. The conversation touched on Ilia Topuria wanting to take on the Dagestani champion, but according to ‘The Diamond’, the size difference would be astounding. Joe Rogan wondered the same.

“Islam is huge,” Poirier confessed on JRE MMA Show #176. “Yeah, Hunter (Campbell) from the UFC, I was in his office not too long ago, and they keep a record of all the weights for fight night. They don’t release them all, but they keep it. And we were talking about the Islam fight; when I fought Islam, and he was telling me his weight, I was like, that’s insane.”

He was told Islam Makhachev weighed somewhere around 190–192 lbs on fight night, compared to his own weight of just 176 lbs. Joe Rogan immediately reacted, calling it “crazy” and noting that the size difference was visible even on screen. Poirier backed that up with his own memory as he recalled, “I’m like, f—, this guy’s huge.”

Those comments quickly made rounds online, and Makhachev didn’t let them sit. Responding directly, the welterweight champion pushed back on the claim on Telegram.

“I’ve never weighed more than 80kg (176 pounds), ever,” Makhachev wrote.

He flatly denied the idea that he was entering the cage at around 190 lbs.

Makhachev won the 170-pound title by dominating Jack Della Maddalena. That performance only added to the perception that he was a large lightweight for years. However, he bulked up significantly for his move up to welterweight and was walking around at 192 lbs. He also admitted that cutting to 155 had become increasingly difficult, saying later that he “regretted” not moving up sooner.

That aligns, at least partially, with what Poirier is describing. But size alone doesn’t explain everything. During the conversation, the Louisiana native also went into detail about the submission that ended their fight, a modified D’arce choke that he said felt different from anything he had experienced. Once Makhachev locked it in, there was no gradual fade. It was immediate.

That speaks more to technique than weight. And maybe that’s the key takeaway here, because according to Colby Covington, ‘El Matador’ still poses a threat to the Dagestani juggernaut despite their size difference!

Ilia Topuria poses an “exceptional” challenge to Islam Makhachev, claims Colby Covington

Colby Covington isn’t ignoring the size gap, but he’s not convinced it decides everything either. While much of the conversation around Islam Makhachev centers on physicality, Covington believes Ilia Topuria brings the kind of tools that can disrupt that advantage.

Speaking with MMA Junkie recently, ‘Chaos’ pointed to their unrealized White House matchup as the “most high-level fight” the UFC could have made. And for him, the intrigue isn’t just hype, it’s stylistic.

“I think Topuria matches up exceptional against Makhachev,” Covington said. “He’s a big, strong guy. He’s a low center of gravity, so he’s going to be very hard to take down and hold down. Of course, we know how explosive his striking is. So, hopefully they can make that fight before their careers end.”

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Topuria is currently set to unify his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje, but the idea of moving up still lingers. And if he does, Covington believes his mentality could play a role. He described Topuria as someone willing to “go through the fire,” adding that even if taken down, he has the instincts to get back up and keep pushing the pace.

Still, the jump to 170 isn’t small. The veteran admitted that the size difference becomes more pronounced at welterweight, where fighters regularly enter the cage closer to 185–190 pounds on fight night. That’s a different level of physicality compared to 155 lbs. But even with that, he didn’t rule Topuria out. In fact, he went further, saying he would “still favor him even at welterweight,” a bold take considering Islam Makhachev’s dominance.

If a fighter like Ilia Topuria can realistically challenge Makhachev despite the size difference, then the gap might not be as decisive as it once seemed. It then becomes a question of style, adaptability, and execution rather than just numbers on a scale, as pointed out by Dustin Poirier.