Dustin
Poirier bypassed a recent opportunity to compete for
lightweight gold to pursue a lucrative trilogy with Conor
McGregor at
UFC 264.
Poirier’s gamble on himself paid off, as he defeated McGregor via
doctor stoppage when the Irishman suffered a broken leg at the end
of the first round of their headlining lightweight bout at the
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Through it all,
Poirier is happy with the route he took to get to this point, and
he attributes much of his success to shutting out the noise from
the outside world.
“It’s the fruit of my labor. I’m happy with the position I’ve put
myself in,” Poirier said. “I’ve been working so hard for so long.
I’ve been dedicated my whole career, but definitely these last few
years I feel like I’m coming into my own because I care less about
all the noise around me surrounding fighting. Opinions, critics and
MMA media can be a toxic place. I got off social media the last
month because of that. I feel good.”
While Poirier prepared for his trilogy against McGregor, Charles
Oliveira claimed the lightweight throne with a second-round
technical knockout victory against Michael
Chandler at UFC 262. It would be understandable if Poirier
lacked the motivation to face Oliveira, who doesn’t possess nearly
the star power of someone like McGregor, but the Louisiana native
claims it’s actually quite the opposite.
“No, he’s not just a guy in the division who happens to have the
belt,” Poirier said. “He’s picked himself up off the canvas time
and time again, fought through adversity, through two weight
classes — he’s been in the UFC for a decade. He’s not just a guy
with a belt. He’s earned every ounce of gold he has around his
waist and I have nothing but respect for guys like that.”
Indeed, Oliveira began his promotional tenure with mixed results
while competing as a featherweight, as he compiled a 9-7 record
with one no contest in the Octagon from 2010 to 2016. At that point
in time, nobody viewed “Do Bronx” as a future UFC champion. Now,
currently riding the momentum of a nine-bout winning streak and the
owner of the promotion’s all-time submission record, the
31-year-old sits atop what is arguably the toughest division in the
sport.
It’s a journey that Poirier, who endured his own struggles as a
featherweight before finding himself at 155 pounds, can
respect.
“I don’t know him personally. But his work history, I can’t hate on
anything he’s done,” Poirier said. “It’ s incredible. That’s
tougher to do than to go undefeated. Because you never learn things
about yourself.
“You learn so much about yourself in those losses and climbing back
to the top and getting motivated again. That’s when you find out
you’re a real fighter. I’m not saying these undefeated guys aren’t.
I’m just saying I have respect for somebody who’s climbed back up
and won a world championship.”