Dustin Poirier is approaching the end of his career. The former interim champion will fight lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the coming days. In a recent interview, Poirier reflected on how fighting changed his life and took him places he could have never imagined. Here is what happened:
Dustin Poirier recently sat down for a conversation with Andreas Hale. During their discussion on the ESPN MMA YouTube channel, ‘The Diamond’ talked about the importance of fighting in his life.
It’s all because of fighting. Fighting has opened these doors for me and to be honest I could be dead or in jail if I had not found fighting.
Dustin Poirier on ESPN MMA
Poirier used to train at Gladiators Academy under retired MMA fighter Tim Credeur. He began his professional career in 2009. In just over a year, Poirier won his first seven fights, finishing all seven of his opponents in under two rounds. After suffering defeat at the hands of Chan Sung Jung, Poirier joined hands with the American Top Team. His coaches are Phil Daru and Jose Rojas.
He made his debut in WEC in 2010 before its merger with the UFC. Now with over 39 professional fights, ‘The Diamond’ has fought some of the top contenders in the fight scene. He fought fighters like Jim Miller, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Charles Oliveira, and others. Now he is going for his third and likely final title fight in a few days at UFC 302.
When Dustin Poirier was arrested at age 10 for an illegal boxing match
Poirier began his fighting career at a young age, likely influenced by his environment in Louisiana. He is one of the best strikers in the lightweight division, and that can be attributed to his early exposure to boxing. He once revealed an interesting story of how got in trouble while fighting.
Dustin Poirier talks about going to juvenile detention (via Facts.net)I went to juvenile detention around my freshman year, and things just got complicated.
Dustin Poirier via UFC in 2021
Poirier will fight in a few days at the Prudential Centre, in Newark New Jersey. He will take on Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion, and pupil of former rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. But this is not where Poirier would like to end his career. He had previously revealed intentions of taking on boxing and getting back to his roots before he gave up fighting altogether.
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