On April 13, lightweight Dustin Poirier (25-5) fought five, full rounds for the first time in his 10-year career, and was rewarded for the effort with UFC gold. In the battle, a rematch against Max Holloway (20-4), Poirier displayed a level of conditioning that most fans likely previously had no idea he possessed, considering how many early bout wins the powerful finisher has accrued.

The American Top Team member’s coach Mike Brown, however, was not at all shocked.

In practice, as the practices goes on, Dustin gets better and better. As others fatigue, it gets easier for him. He is the same in fights, the former featherweight world champ tells Cepeda. He’s got a gift. I’ve seen it many times. He might be back in the gym after a break of three or four weeks of eating cheeseburgers, then he comes back and goes right into sparring with world-class fighters, doing four to five rounds and they’re getting more tired than him, fading. I could never do anything like that. I’d be blue-lipped and ready to throw up.

Brown was surprised, however, at just how durable the great Max Holloway was. The reigning 145lbs title-holder came up in weight to try and avenge an earlier loss to Poirier and vie for the interim lightweight belt, and fought gamely for all five rounds despite being hurt early and often by Poirier’s punches.

No way, Brown replies, when asked if he would have ever imagined that Holloway would have been able to take as much punishment from Poirier as he did and remain conscious. The amount of power and just sheer volume that Dustin puts out in that short period of time when he hurts you, that barrage that he puts on is incredible. Honestly, I don’t think anyone can put out that amount of wattage, that type of energy.

On the whole, the thrilling night for Team Poirier, was an inevitable culmination of talent, hard work, and smart adjustments, according to Brown.

We all thought it would happen, that eventually Dustin would be a world champion, that he just needed the opportunity, he continues. He came close a couple times in a couple key fights but then dropped one, these situations where he was winning four out of five.

According to the coach, Poirier’s doggedness and willingness to make crucial tactical calibrations to his overall breakneck aggressive style allowed him to be ready for a fight like the Holloway one. A more patient, selective Poirier is now able to show off one of his best attributes – the aforementioned ungodly conditioning.

It was about his persistence. The big turn was the Michael Johnson fight. Every fight Dustin was in was amazing, of course. He would go out there and try to destroy every guy he was in the cage with – just try to take him out in two minutes. That worked four out of five times. Then we said, ‘Hey man, we’ve gotta make adjustments,’ Brown explains. One of Dustin’s best attributes is his conditioning and muscle endurance and he wasn’t even showing that off. So I said, ‘let’s be a little bit more patient, take out time, be safe, and get our knockout in the third, fourth, or fifth.’ It was about him taking care of himself, keeping his head safe, chipping away. Dustin kicks hard with both legs and hits hard with both hands so it’s only a matter of time until he lands something and his opponent either goes down or gets hurt. We wanted to let the fight play out and then we knew that’s when he’d really shine because of his conditioning. We just told him ‘take your time, take your time.’

He still does it when he hurts the guy – goes all out – but he used to do it even before he hurt the guy. When Dustin turns up the output it is crazy.

About the author:

Elias Cepeda writes a regular column for The UG Feed; you can find Elias on Twitter @EliasCepeda.