Kayla Harrison praises Dustin Poirier ahead of UFC 264 trilogy: 'I aspire to be like him'

Kayla Harrison can’t say enough good things about teammate Dustin Poirier.

The 2019 PFL women’s lightweight champion thinks highly of Poirier and hopes to resemble many of the qualities Poirier has shown through his 12-year career as a fighter. Harrison is somewhat new to the MMA game compared to other top female fighters in the sport. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo began fighting in 2018 and has 10 straight wins under her belt.

Ahead of Poirier’s 35th professional fight at Saturday’s UFC 264 against Conor McGregor, Harrison opened up about Poirier’s importance to American Top Team, as well as her own fighting career.

“He’s a leader on the mat and off the mat the way he handles himself and carries himself,” Harrison told MMA Junkie. “He’s humble, he’s hungry, he’s gracious in victory and defeat. I think that he’s done a really good job in handling his business. Man, the fight business is an ugly game and it can change you and turn you into something you’re not proud of. But he didn’t allow that to happen. He’s a family man through and through. He’s a giving man. He has a foundation and he has all these things that he uses to channel everything and find a way to give back to his community. He takes his platform and he uses it for good, and to me that’s what being a fighter, being an athlete and a role model, is.

“I look up to Dustin. He’s a role model and I look up to him a lot. I aspire to be like him in both my personal life and when I fight. He’s also a hell of a fighter. He goes out there and you never know. He has a game plan and he goes, ‘No, we’re just going to brawl. We’re going to do this. I know that I’m a bad motherf*cker and I’m just going to take you out.’ That’s just who he is as a person. You can’t keep him down. I can’t say enough good things about him. I really look up to him.”

As far as what she expects from Poirier’s trilogy bout with McGregor, the answer is simple.

“Of course Dustin is going to knock him out.”

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