Outside Source
Dustin Poirier’s career was one for the record books. | Getty/UFC
While mixed martial arts is an individual sport with a clear-cut bottom line, UFC 318 was about far more than wins and losses.
It was about celebrating one of the sports most beloved figures, an all-action competitor in the Octagon with a reputation for having a heart of gold outside of it. UFC CEO Dana White said ahead of time that UFC 318 was a love letter to Dustin Poirier, and the event lived up to its advance billing.
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“It felt incredible. It felt unreal. It felt like a movie. It felt like I was watching it from the outside,” Poirier said at the UFC 318 post-fight press conference. “It was really cool. I felt the love and turning back and seeing [Lil Wayne] walking [to the cage] with us. I’m from the streets of Louisiana. I grew up listening to No Limit and Cash Money and the guy’s walking with me — crazy.”
Poirier faced plenty of media demands leading up to his farewell fight, but that didn’t affect him once he was standing across from Max Holloway inside the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
“It’s tunnel vision, just muscle memory. Once that door locks and that bell rings, it’s go time. I’m not thinking about anything else,” he said. “The distractions came more this week with people reaching out, all the interviews. I tried my best to represent the state of Louisiana and talk about what we have going on and the culture here — just getting pulled a lot of different ways. Fight night felt like any other fight night. It was a lot louder and I felt the love — but it was no distraction.”
Poirier didn’t get his fairytale ending. “The Diamond” fought valiantly in his trilogy with Holloway — and nearly secured a finish at the end of Round 2 — but he ultimately dropped a unanimous decision to the reigning BMF champion.
“I thought I competed with [one of the best guys] in the world,” Poirier said. “I thought it was close. I felt good in there. Cardio felt good, my movement felt good. I wanted to go show that I could compete, make it close and say ‘Hey I’m still at the top of my game. I’m going out because I want to.’ I wanted it to be a war.”
After the bout, the Las Vegas-based promotion paid tribute to Poirier with a retrospective video entitle “Paid in Full.” The 36-year-old Louisianan couldn’t help but get emotional as he looked back on a memorable career.
“The video was tough to watch,” he said. “This whole journey means so much to me. Seeing my mom and my first martial arts kickboxing coach, I didn’t know they got him to film that. Seeing my daughter talk. It really pulled at my heartstrings, man.
“I’m just thankful that I have this journey documented and people following along for so long. It’s amazing. Not that I didn’t feel like I meant that much to the company — I just never thought about it. I didn’t know that people cared that much. I thought I was just fighting to feed my family. I didn’t know I touched so many people until this last week.”
Looking Ahead: Family, Community and a Potential Broadcasting Role
With one chapter of his life coming to an end, Poirier is looking forward to being even more involved with his family and the community.
“Fighting is such a selfish sport. I put so many things on hold to chase these dreams and do these camps. I just want to get home and get on a normal schedule with my family,” he said.
“….I just spoke to Max. He’s involved with some [charity] stuff in Hawaii. I think we’re going to link up and try to do something big. Just keep this going, keep fighting the good fight. Try to leave the world a better place than when you found it. That’s the goal.”
While Poirier laid his gloves down in the cage, he does hope to stay involved in MMA in some capacity — potentially in a broadcast or commentary role.
“Nobody wants to get in a fight of the night on the soccer sideline. I promise you that. I still got it,” Poirier quipped. I have a lot of stuff to keep me busy, but nothing’s every gonna fill that void of walking out to a crowd trying to will you to win and fighting the best guy’s in the world for 25 minutes. I don’t know if anything’s ever gonna feel that way again.
“I would love to stay connected to the sport, keep working for ESPN. The sport has given me everything I have in life. I would love to watch and other kids chase their dreams and put my two cents on what I think I learned in decades of doing this.”
After 41 professional fights over the course of a professional career that began in 2009, Poirier’s legacy is secure — even without the championship hardware at the sport’s highest level. There are other ways to make an impact, and Poirier has certainly been felt over the years.
“I did make people feel certain ways, and inspired, and I didn’t think about that,” Poirier said. “The love and the outreach has been incredible, and I really feel it. I’m just thankful that people got inspired and followed my journey. You can do anything you put your mind to, and that’s what I want my story to be.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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