American Top Team owner Dan Lambert believes lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov can’t afford to be tired against Dustin Poirier.

Nurmagomedov is expected to face the interim lightweight champion in a title unification fight at UFC 242 which will take place September 7 in Abu Dhabi.

Given Poirier’s recent run of wins along with Nurmagomedov’s highly-awaited return since his win over Conor McGregor, this is undoubtedly one of the biggest fights of the year for Lambert.

“It is a huge fight,” Lambert told BJPenn.com. “Khabib has become a star. He has that monster win over Conor McGregor and he is a beast.

“You have the number one fighter in the world, you have a guy with an interim title. They are going to go at it. It is a big fight for Dustin and a big fight for the UFC. We are excited about it.”

Path To Victory

Beating Nurmagomedov won’t be easy, however. After all, “The Eagle” has only lost one round in his entire UFC career. Many still question if he even lost that third round against McGregor.

However, many also acknowledge Nurmagomedov tends to slow down in the latter rounds. He did it against Al Iaquinta last year while even in his fight with McGregor, the Irishman was able to stuff takedowns in the third round.

Lambert believes that is one clear path to victory for Poirier if he is able to take the Dagestan native to deep waters.

“Khabib hasn’t lost many rounds or many seconds of a fight,” Lambert added. “If Dustin is standing in front of a tired Khabib in the fourth round like Al Iaquinta was, Khabib is in for a world of sh*t.”

Do you think Poirier’s best chance to defeat Nurmagomedov is in the latter rounds?