"He's been in the wars, he's survived the wars" - Laura Sanko explains why Dustin Poirier will have an edge over Charles Oliveira at UFC 269

UFC analyst Laura Sanko is convinced that Dustin Poirier has an advantage over lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in their upcoming title fight at UFC 269.

During an interview with fellow journalist James Lynch for Combat Sports on Fanatics View, Sanko revealed that she leans towards Poirier as her pick to win the main event of UFC 269. Sanko explained:

"Charles Oliveira, we saw him almost get put out in his fight with Michael Chandler. We could be having a completely different conversation right now. We're seconds away from having a different conversation right now. That's a tough thing coming into a fight against a guy like Dustin Poirier, who has proven time and time again that, not only does he have a ridiculously high-level skillset in every facet of MMA, he also has the durability... Charles Oliveira has those danger factors in any given facet of this game but Dustin Poirier overall has fought the better competition, he's been in the wars, he survived the wars, he thrives in wars. I'm not sure that that's one thing you can say as necessarily been proven yet about Charles Oliveira."

Laura Sanko's take on Dustin Poirier vs. Charles Oliveira below:

Sanko also addressed the criticism that Oliveira isn't a mentally tough fighter. According to the broadcaster, there's sufficient evidence to debunk the notion that the Brazilian fighter isn't mentally durable. That said, though, Sanko added that Poirier is equally as tough in the mental game and has proven to be physically resilient as well.

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Laura Sanko reveals what excites her about Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier

In the eyes of many, Dustin Poirier is the uncrowned king of the UFC lightweight division. After all, he could've fought for the vacant title at UFC 262, but chose to prioritize the more lucrative trilogy bout against Conor McGregor over his pursuit for gold.

On December 11th, Poirier will finally get his chance to become the undisputed champion of the 155 lbs division. Sanko said she's excited to see if Poirier really is the best fighter in the division. She continued:

"The fact is, all of his fans and media members, whoever we are enjoying the sport, at the back of our minds – even when we were watching Michael Chandler fight Charles Oliveira, it was a fantastic, amazing fight – the whole time we were thinking, 'Yeah, but what about Dustin Poirier?' So now we finally get to answer that question."