Dustin Poirier is 'the best lightweight in the world', according to Mike Brown.
The American Top Team coach even went so far as to label the 33-year-old as one of the best fighters in history after he defeated Conor McGregor by TKO in their trilogy fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
As GIVEMESPORT first reported at the beginning of September, Poirier, 32, will challenge Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 269 on December 11.
And while Brown believes Oliveira deserves 'a lot of respect' for everything he has achieved in the game so far, he feels his body of work has put Poirier above that of his rivals McGregor and Oliveira as the world's best.
“I give him a lot of respect,” Brown told MMA Fighting.
“I think he’s a fan-favourite, I think people are excited to see him fight and he is the champ. The guy has the most subs in UFC history and this is something special.
“I don’t know, the circle I’m in, the circles I’m involved in, give him a lot of respect. Maybe in the media [or with the fans] that’s the case, but from where I’m sitting he gets a lot of respect.
“I love the matchup. It’s exciting. His style, he’s an elite submission grappler, one of the best in the sport and it’s a fun puzzle. But I think Dustin is the best lightweight in the world, without a doubt.
“One of my favourite stats that they threw out recently was the third quickest to 20 wins behind Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
"That’s pretty damn good company, and that shows what calibre of a fighter he truly is. He’s one of the greatest to ever do the sport.”
Former WEC featherweight champion Brown admits he can't help but be impressed by his fighter who has fought back from a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov to get a second crack at undisputed gold.
He added: “It shows you that you think you’re out, but one or two fights and you’re right back in there.
“You can never count yourself out, this sport changes so quickly.
"Sometimes, with the world championship, there’s a little bit of luck involved with timing, promotion, so many things, the luck on the night—sometimes the better fighter doesn’t always win - there’s so many things that factor in.
“If you look at Dustin’s overall resume, it’s unbelievably impressive.”
Poirier, meanwhile, has also spoken highly of Oliveira in the past, as he feels there are comparisons that can be made between him and the Brazilian.
After being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, he told MMA Junkie: "Charles Oliveira had a tough road, like me. He put in his work, he cut his teeth, he’s bled and clawed his way to being the world champion and he is the undisputed world champion, no doubt about it.
"I see a lot of hate and shade being thrown online. That’s never going to stop for anybody. But the guy has earned it. It’s inspiring to see guys like that, a guy like (Michael) Bisping, Charles Oliveira.
"If I can do it, I’ll put myself in the same category – guys who have been knocked down and climbed back up, never say die. Respect. I don’t know the guy personally, but I respect his journey to be world champion.”
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