Fighting should not be viewed through the same lens as other general sports; as the old cliche saying goes, “You don’t play fighting.” This could not be more true as you begin to acknowledge the severity and brutality accompanying the world we commonly refer to as ‘the fight game.’
For a young kid out of the Northside of Lafayette, Louisiana, always finding himself in trouble, fighting could be seen as an outlet. Some would even refer to it as an ‘escape.’ But for Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier, it was more than that. It was a transformative journey that would see him rise from the ashes of his troubled youth to become one of the biggest names in MMA, a life and legacy he would carve out for himself.
Looking back at MMA legend Dustin Poirier’s troubled early life and rise to become a household name in the UFC.
Poirier’s Early Life
Born January 19, 1989, the Cajun grew up with his parents, who divorced at the young age of five, and he was involved in plenty of fights. One case of his fighting as a child can be recalled from a time when a police officer reportedly apprehended a 10-year-old Poirier after breaking the jaw and teeth of a 15-year-old boy with a punch.
In the past, Poirier has commented on the fighting nature that he believes runs in his family: ” My father was a fighter, my grandfather was a fighter, it’s just in my blood.”
The future UFC legend picked up the sport of wrestling while in middle school, around the same time, Poirier met his future wife, Jolie. This bond would help drive the Cajun to fulfill his destiny as an MMA fighter. “A lot of the things that Dustin learned about himself, I think Jolie already saw in him and already knew he was destined for greatness,” Poirier’s friend and mentor Tim Credeur told Patrick Gavia during an interview.
Poirier attended Northside High School as a teenager but dropped out at the age of fifteen after a brief stint in juvenile court and boot camp. With no school to attend, the teenager decided to take a job at McDonald’s.
During this time, he picked up a bad habit of aimlessly hanging out with friends, which ultimately led to heavy smoking and drinking. Around the age of eighteen, Poirier had a moment of realization as he made up his mind to change his life for the better.
The struggling young man decided to weed out the negative friends in his life that he had become so accustomed to. He also turned to the sport of boxing, attending his local gym and repeatedly punching the bag there.
This turn in his life resulted in a drastic health improvement, and shortly after, Poirier decided to seek his first amateur MMA fight.
“People who say that this is a crazy dream or like a fantasy dream that I’m chasing and that I won’t be able to do it, you know what’s their dream, what are they gonna do with their lives,” Poirier said to media members.
MMA Start
Poirier made his amateur debut on January 24, 2009, when he defeated Gilbert Jimenez unanimously. This would be his only fight as an amateur as the hungry 20-year-old decided to turn professional and pursue his dream.
The gritty Cajun quickly racked up seven impressive wins consecutively to start his professional run; scoring stoppage wins in all seven.
With such an impressive start to his professional career, Poirier earned himself a shot in one of the premier MMA promotions at the time, WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting). However, this is where his blazing hot start as a pro would halt as the much older and experienced Danny Castillo handed him his first loss as a fighter.
This loss only sparked newfound growth for Poirier, who bounced back with an impressive five-fight win streak that included his transition to the UFC. Poirier had only one more fight in the WEC before the merger with the UFC, in which he earned a first-round TKO victory over Zackary Mickelwright.
Poirier’s UFC Legacy
On January 1, 2011, Poirier made his UFC debut as a featherweight against fellow WEC transfer Josh Grispi. Going into the fight, Grispi had a decent amount of hype around him. The hungry Louisianan displayed a composed, all-around MMA game plan, leaving the highly touted Grispi answerless. Poirier earned a unanimous decision victory after three rounds.
Over the early course of his career, he wasted no time facing the company’s best. His esteemed resume includes elite names such as Max Holloway, Conor McGregor, ‘The Korean Zombie,’ etc.
Fast-forward eight hard-fought years later, Poirier found himself able to fight for the UFC interim lightweight championship against a familiar foe in Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway. Poirier had already fought the Hawaiian native in his third fight in the UFC.
Poirier showed more poise and experience in their first fight as he slickly secured a first-round submission over the younger Holloway. In their highly anticipated interim title rematch, the two acknowledged each other’s growth as fighters.
Come the night of UFC 236 on April 13, 2019, the two future UFC Hall-of-Famers stood toe-to-toe for twenty-five minutes, exchanging vicious blows that left one another bloodied and bruised come the end bell.
The judge’s scorecards were totaled, and ring announcer Bruce Buffer read the totals as a unanimous decision victory in favor of Poirier, finally crowning him a champion.
This interim title victory granted Poirier his long-awaited shot at undisputed gold as he challenged the unblemished mauling-style grappling UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov on UFC 242. Poirier ended up suffering a third-round submission loss via rear-naked choke.
Devastated by the loss, Poirier took a few months away from the fight game before jumping back into the fire against the lanky New Zealand kickboxer Dan Hooker. The two lightweights engaged in one of the most brutal fights in UFC history, with Poirier raising his hand in a closely contested unanimous decision.
The next step in his career was avenging his one-sided first-round knockout loss to heated rival Conor McGregor on UFC 178 in November 2014. Poirier seized the opportunity for redemption when he faced McGregor on UFC 257 in January 2021.
By prioritizing kicking the lead leg of the boxing-stance-based McGregor, Poirier hindered McGregor’s movement and eventually scored a devastating second-round knockout over the Irish superstar.
Fast-forward to Poirier’s second shot at undisputed gold against the surging Brazilian UFC veteran Charles ‘DoBronx’ Oliveira on UFC 269. Poirier started the fight looking great with his boxing and defense. However, the crafty and slick veteran Oliveira grabbed ahold of Poirier and used his grappling advantage.
With such a vast difference in the skill gap regarding grappling skills, Oliveira was able to take Poirier’s back and secure a third-round submission victory via rear-naked choke. Once again, the Lafayette-born fighter fell short of the undisputed gold.
Last Chance at Undisputed Gold
Now, in the main event of UFC 302 set to take place on June 1, the 35-year-old Louisianan faces arguably the most formidable challenge of his career as he makes his third attempt at challenging for the UFC lightweight title against the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world and pupil of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev (25-1-0).
Coming off an impressive second-round knockout victory over the rising French lightweight prospect Benoit Saint-Denis, Poirier comes into this matchup with Makhachev as the heavy betting underdog.
For a fighter that has been through the highest of highs and lowest of lows like Poirier, to secure the long-awaited title of undisputed champion over the likes of such a phenom as Makhachev would be a seemingly fairy-tale ending.
Stay tuned for more UFC news and updates via RespectMyRegion.com
