Dustin Poirier: "These Guys Need Ass Whoopings, I'm the One to Give it to Them."

[Substance Abuse]

UFC Lightweight title contender appeared on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on Monday and spoke about many things.



On Gaethje thinking he'll retire if he wins the belt:

Gaethje’s recent prediction that Poirier would retire rather than rematch him was Fight Promotion 101.

“It’s enticing, it makes people interested, it’s a hook, he’s hoping I bite onto it and beat [Charles] Oliveira and, ‘Ah, Gaethje, I’ve got to give it to him now because he’s the one running his mouth,’” Poirier said Monday on The MMA Hour. “That’s the way this game is. People talk and try to set things up. Play the hands that they have, and that’s what he’s doing.

“Good on him. I’m a fan of him. I have nothing bad to say about the guy, but I beat him that night in his home town. What else can I say?”

There’s at least one thing: Poirier refutes the claim that he’s going to walk away if he takes the title from Oliveira at UFC 269.

“Nah, man – I’m a fighter,” he said. “I’m fortune enough now, with this year that I’ve had, I could walk away. It’s a great position to be in, but these guys need ass-whoopings, and I’m the guy to give it to them. And we can’t walk away like that.”

On his fight with Gaethje:

Poirier may have had a limp when he exited the arena following a 2018 meeting with Gaethje that was awarded “Fight of the Night.” It was a brutal encounter with serious repercussions; Poirier said of all the leg kicks he’s endured, the after-effects of Gaethje’s were the most painful.

The thing is, it was also a very successful night – in the fourth round, Poirier knocked out the MMA veteran with a flurry of punches.

“I was back at the big Airbnb, we did like a house party, I’m drinking Modelos and I was fine,” he said. “[Gaethje] doesn’t have any memories of going back and looking at the fight, because I knocked him out...probably kind of cloudy. I remember the night – it was a great night.”

On Gaethje/Chandler:

“Damn, this is bad for you — is what I’m thinking,” he said. “These guys are crazy, man, for taking damage like that. But I think I beat both of those guys if they fight me the way they fought that night.”

On Gaethje possibly being next:

Gaethje’s main pitch during his interview with MMA Fighting was that he should be the next challenger for the title. Despite falling short in a title eliminator against Khabib Nurmagomedov 13 months ago, he believes he has the strongest case for another title shot, and the win over Chandler only bolstered that.

Poirier isn’t quite ready to crown him the next challenger, though.

“I honestly don’t think that far ahead into it, because I have my hands full,” he said. “But Gaethje, this is one fight since the title fight, so obviously he’s still the No. 2 ranked guy. Islam [Makhachev] is on a huge streak. It’s not my call. Maybe Islam needs to fight one more top contender, and then he’s next. Maybe Gaethje should fight Islam, that way they settle it. That’s the beautiful thing about fighting.”

Link: https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/11...d-ass-whoopings-and-im-one-to-give-it-to-them

 

[Sickbro69420]

I'm picking Olivera. I think he's faster.

 

[Luthien]

Team Olives all the way for me

I'll be rooting for Charles

 

[VinceArch]

The one who needed his ass whooped the most Dustin already accomplished it. Twice.

 

[Jawth]

Poirier is the best LW now and a P4P great. khabib was just good enough to demolish him anyway.

Dustin will knock out Charles and whoever is next.

 

[accolyte1022]

The one who needed his ass whooped the most Dustin already accomplished it. Twice.

DOCTAH STOPPAGE!

 

[Coastal-Redwood]

Reading that and I'm thinking he learned a ton from his Conor beatdown. He sees the head games now and doesn't get invested.

 

[NickDiaz]

The one who needed his ass whooped the most Dustin already accomplished it. Twice.

 

[Mammothman]

Team Olives all the way for me

I'll be rooting for Charles

The winning team

 

[Liverkick-king56]

I think it depends on how he shows up.

If he throws haymakers with no set up like he did against Khabib and Conor (the third fight) I think he gets picked apart and beat

But

If he shows up like he did for the Gaethje, Holloway and 2nd Conor fight with his footwork, patient defence, proper combos and great shot selection. I think he finishes Olivera brutally.

if I had to bet I’d pick Poirier but I do have a feeling he comes in over confident like he did against McGregor and makes this fight harder than it needs to be.

 

[Adamant]

I'm not really sure. Recent Oliveira has looked like a monster, but all time not so much. Poirier is looking like a monster too, recently. So..... I think I slightly favor Poirier, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if Oliveira pulled it off.

50/50

Whoever stands a better chance against Islam is who I want to win.

 

[Luthien]

The winning team

Heck yeah

 

[imbossing]

Poirier is the best LW now and a P4P great. khabib was just good enough to demolish him anyway.

Dustin will knock out Charles and whoever is next.

No he wont. Beating conor doesnt make you the best. Who has he knocked out?

 

[Herwald]

Cub Swanson beat both of these guys. Back to back. Just a random fact there from a Cub fan.

But also a reminder that it's a skill based sport and the landscape always changes. You shouldn't get discouraged by set backs or be too arrogant in your successes.

 

[Simple Southerner]

My heart says 1 guy. my mind says the other guy idk who to pick this fight. The fans are the real winners here

 

[imbossing]

Heck yeah

Charles will beat him.. ill bump this thread when he does

 

[Arkham's Notorious Geyser]

Cub Swanson beat both of these guys. Back to back. Just a random fact there from a Cub fan.

But also a reminder that it's a skill based sport and the landscape always changes. You shouldn't get discouraged by set backs or be too arrogant in your successes.

He also beat them in 2013 where they might as well have been toddlers...Dustin was 24 at the time lol. Yeah the win aged PHENOMELY for Cub but how's Cub doing nowadays? Any Championship matches lined up?

 

[Ackmed]

Love Poirier and really hope he gets the belt in December (nothing against Charles).

Gaethje always runs his mouth about how his opponents can't walk and are guaranteed in pain for weeks after they fight him (even when they beat him lol). He said the same about Khabib - something about his legs guaranteed giving him problems after they fought, and Khabib only took 10 leg kicks.

Poirier literally absorbed 50 leg kicks and says he was fine!

Gaethje first predicted Khabib would be incapacitated after only 4 leg kicks. Then after round one his corner was like "4 more leg kicks!"

 

[dipstickjimmy]

No he wont. Beating conor doesnt make you the best. Who has he knocked out?

He has 14 of them but since moving to LW:
Ferreira, Medeiros, Green, Gathje, Alvarez, McGregor & McGregor. Also KO's are not the only measure of the best. He has also won clear UD's over Max, Hooker & Duffy, an MD over Jim Miller and a submission over Pettis.

 

[is a]

Depending on the odds for this fight, the resulting fight and how it plays out has the potential to surprise a lot of people, especially if Oliveira wins.

However, I've seen Oliveira's stand-up improve by leaps and bounds to the point that his stand-up is good enough to the point where he can be called a striker, rather than a grappler.

Also, I highly doubt that Dustin is willing to take this fight to the ground when Oliveira has arguably better grappling + ability to perform fight-ending submissions seemingly at will.

So...who has the better stand-up between the two?

I see this fight going similarly to the Cain vs Werdum fight where Cain got outclassed on the feet, started taking a ton of damage, and ended up getting into a sub because he was forced to panic wrestle in a last ditch effort.