Dustin Glenn Poirier, aka “The Diamond”, born, January 19th, 1989 (in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA) is among the leading names we’re hearing often about in the UFC today.
The 32 year-old American mixed martial artist is currently ranked at No.2 in the UFC Lightweight rankings and No.7 in the UFC Men’s Pound for Pound rankings.
He trains with the American Top Team in South Florida and has earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under instructor Timothy Credeur.
Dustin started off by winning his first match in the featherweight division of UFC 125: Resolution, on January 1st 2011 against Josh Grispi.
Turning pro in 2009, his career started on a high as he won his first seven fights by competing in regional promotions across his native Louisiana and others in South-Central United States. He accomplished those seven victories in just 13 months fighting every two months on average.
He was signed to the featherweight division of the UFC from 2011 until 2014.
The transition from lightweight to featherweight forced him to lose weight as that division limits competitors to 145lb.
George Lockhart, a former marine and MMA fighter, helped Dustin with his weight cuts. The Louisiana native compiled an impressive 8-3 Octagon record at 145 pounds but brought in its wake some critical health issues. Weight cuts proved to be a big obstacle and distraction to his training and mental conditioning.
Dustin Poirier’s stint as a lightweight began in 2015 with a bang knocking out his opponents; Carlos Ferreira, Yancy Medeiros, Joseph Duffy, Bobby Green. He never looked back after that and went on to secure major victories against several big names in the business like Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and Max Holloway in just 14 months, starting off with Eddie Alvarez on May 13, 2107.
He had a short run at World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) in the year 2010 where he competed only twice. Though he lost his first fight against Danny Castillo via unanimous decision, he rebounded in his next match at WEC 52 with a comeback knockout victory over Zach Micklewright.
Dustin Poirier was also featured in an MMA Documentary film “FightVille” released in the year 2011. The documentary featured interviews with a group of fighters and coaches from Louisiana as the filmmakers aimed to explore their troubled respective backgrounds.
Dustin also invests his time in almsgiving to the poor with the help of several NGO’s in America. He even auctioned his UFC 211 kit- gloves, cap, shirt, and hand wrap in order to raise money for an NGO known as “Feeding America” which is known for feeding people through a network of more than 200 food banks.
He had been training extremely hard for his match against Conor McGregor for UFC: 257 which took place a couple days back on on January 23rd. They had a match six years earlier at UFC: 178 where Dustin Poirier was knocked out in the first round by “The Notorious”.
“I know what a win over Conor McGregor means in combat sports and I know whoever wins this fight is fighting for gold and that’s why I fight,” Poirier said during the UFC 257 pre-fight press conference.
“I used to care too much. I don’t care. That’s a superpower. Not giving a f**k. That’s it.” -Poirier
To the shock of MMA and UFC fans around the world, the rematch turned out to be a huge spoiler at UFC: 257 on the Yas Island of Abu Dhabi. The crowd went wild as Dustin knocked out Conor McGregor – the former UFC Lightweight Champion, in the second round leaving millions stunned.
So, now you’ve got the back story on the former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion, let’s get into this hotlist of The Diamond’s best, high impact finishes – as we breakdown Dustin Poirier’s Top 5 MMA Finishes! (in descending order)
- Vs. Eddie Alvarez – UFC on Fox 30 (July 28, 2018)
- Vs. Diego Ferreira – UFC Fight Night 63 (April 4, 2015)
- Vs. Max Holloway – UFC 236 (April 13, 2019)
- Vs. Justin Gaethje – UFC on Fox: 29 (April 14, 2018)
- Conor McGregor – UFC 257 (Jan. 23, 2021)
At the start of round one both fighters looked for an opening to exert maximum impact on each other.
At 4 minutes 50 seconds into the round, Poirier threw a combination of hooks, jabs and a low calf kick on Alvarez who retaliated with a slip and rip and a right-hand jab on Poirier.
At 20 seconds into round two, Alvarez landed a spinning right hand to Dustin’s face. Both fighters continued fighting towards ringside, and at 40 seconds in, Poirier jumped on Alvarez to apply a guillotine choke.
With 90 seconds to go, Dustin Poirier hurled a heavy knee accompanied by ruthless punches to the face of Alvarez causing him to stumble ring sideward.
Poirier then choked and pounced with heavy knees onto the head of Alvarez, unleashing a jab blitz that caused his eyes to swell.
At 4 minutes and 5 seconds into the round, the referee intervened as Alvarez had by this point, undergone a brutal battering.
Dustin Poirier won the match by TKO. This match is ranked as the 9th Best MMA Fight of the Year 2018, and the 83rd Greatest Lightweight MMA Fight of All Time.
This was Dustin Poirier’s debut match in the lightweight division of the UFC and he was up against the former Legacy FC Lightweight champion Diego Ferreira.
As the match got underway, both fighters lost no time in attacking each other. At 20 seconds into round one, Poirier attacked with a right-hand jab and quickly went in for a choke seeking the submission.
However, Ferreira flipped Dustin Poirier with a beautiful arm drag.
At 3 minutes and 8 seconds into the round, Poirier hurled a big left hand to the face of Ferreira which grounded him, and he sought to ground and pound but somehow Ferreira quickly managed to get up and transition with an lackluster-looking takedown on Poirier.
Shortly after, Poirier pounced with a quick left hand jab which again floored Ferreira, and this time he did manage to follow up with a short, intense ground and pound.
The match finished at 3 minutes, 45 seconds of round one as the referee intervened to separate Poirier who was unrelenting with his right hand jabs and iron fists upon Ferreira.
This match is ranked as the 89th Best MMA Fight of the Year, 2015 and the 69th Best Knockout of the Year 2015. This match earned Poirier the UFC Fight Performance of the Night as well as a welcome $50,000 bonus.
Betting odds were in the favour of “Blessed” Max Holloway who was the reigning Featherweight Champion up against the Lightweight “Diamond” Dustin Poirier.
This main event was fought for the vacant title of “UFC Interim Lightweight Championship” and Max Holloway was looking to clinch this title to define his legacy in UFC.
At 1 minute 25 seconds into round one, Poirier unleashed his ruthless side by delivering a flurry of left-right jabs as Holloway took guard. Holloway fought back and tried to batter his opponent as the commentators exclaimed “Oh! Poirier is in trouble”. But that was short-lived as Poirier began to exert a huge power advantage over Holloway.
An astonishing 99 significant strikes were absorbed by Holloway in just 10 minutes of the fight.
At 3 minutes 42 seconds into round three, Poirier busted Holloway open with a knee straight to the face from which he started to bleed profusely. The crowd went wild as the fighters prepared for the final round.
With just 10 seconds left to finish, the Atlanta crowd were already on their feet giving a standing ovation for the sheer courage displayed as these skilled warriors fought their hearts out.
Dustin Poirier won the match via a round five decision and was crowned the new UFC Interim Lightweight Champion.
This match was ranked the 2nd Best MMA Fight of the Year 2019, and 13th Greatest Lightweight MMA Fight of All Time and 26th Greatest Fight of All Time. The match was also classed UFC 236’s Fight of the Night.
The stadium came alive with plenty of audience buzz as it was the Lightweight MMA Main event. Dustin looked sharp and maintaining superb poise as he charged towards his opponent to execute a combination of strikes.
At 1 minute 10 seconds into round two, referee Herb Dean stopped the match as Gaethje had poked his fingers right into the left eye of Poirier who was blinded by the strike.
With just 20 seconds left in round two, Poirier held a kick that Gaethje tried to throw going for a takedown at the side of the ring with both fighters exchanging ferocious hooks and jabs on each other. Gaethje finished the round with a high kick and a body flip much to the amazement of the crowd.
With 25 seconds left in the third round, Gaethje again poked the eye of Poirier. By now, tensions were rising as the crowd began getting to their feet and reacting. Infuriated by the incident, Dustin landed a heavy left-hand jab that sent shivers down the spine of Gaethje who was just left stunned.
At 33 seconds into round four, the referee hurriedly intervened as Poirier brutally rained punches and jabs that left Gaethje stumbling to the side of ring.
Poirier won the match by TKO (punches) at 33 seconds into round four. This fight earned the fighters a bonus of $50,000 each as the bout was declared Fight of the Night. The match also earned the following credentials: 31st Greatest Fight of All Time, 12th Greatest Lightweight Fight of All Time, 2nd Best MMA Fight of the Year for 2018, and 28th Best Knockout for the Year, 2018.
Six years in the making, one of the most anticipated rematches in the history of the UFC just took place in the Etihad Arena on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island.
‘The Notorious’ McGregor started out, taking centre stage to attack Poirier with jabs. At 20 seconds in, Poirier attacked with two right hand jabs as McGregor stalked him towards the corner.
Both fighters grappled at the side of the cage as Poirier aimed for a surprise takedown on McGregor who cunningly crawled to the side to get the support needed to get up. Both employed shoulder strikes as they continued to grapple.
At 3 minutes 44 seconds into round one, Conor in his typical style got two jabs in right on Poirier’s face. Poirier then unleashed his trademark high-intensity punches straight to Conor’s face who was unable to defend himself against these lightning-paced jabs.
At 2 minutes and 32 seconds of round two, the referee intervened as Conor had collapsed to the ground, unable to answer the fierce strikes emanating from Poirier.
Knocking out Conor McGregor was a huge victory for Poirier, as it’s the first time that anybody’s knocked him out in the UFC. “The Diamond” Dustin Poirier won the UFC: 257 Performance of the Night along with the bonus of $50,000
This match is ranked the 7th Best MMA Knockout of the Year 2021 and 20th Best MMA Fight of the Year for 2021.
