Dustin Poirier's journey to UFC 269.

[Question]

INFO:
Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier(28-6, 1NC) has been with the UFC since 2011 and is considered one of the most ruthless lightweight contenders. Dustin currently holds the record for the most KO's/TKO's in the UFC's lightweight history(8 KO's/TKO's).
He is currently the UFC's number one lightweight contender and the former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion after being with the promotion for over 10 years.


DEBUT:
Dustin Poirier was 20 years old when he had his UFC debut against Josh "The Fluke" Grispi(14-5). The fight was set for January 1st 2010 in the Featherweight division.

He would beat Josh Grispi by decision, this would be a very impresive win at the time.
Fun fact: Josh Grispi was originality supposed to fight the UFC Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo(31-7). The champ had to pull out due to an injury and Poirier stepped in on short notice.
This would've been considered the 1st Featherweight Title Fight in UFC history.


CLIMBING THE RANKS OF THE FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION:
Dustin Poirier would collect 3 more wins in the division and establish himself as a contender for the belt.

Jason Young: Win by DEC.

Pablo Garza: Win by 2nd round SUB.

Max Holloway: Win by 1st round SUB.

WAR WITH THE KOREAN ZOMBIE:
Dustin Poirier was booked against Chan Sung Jung/Korean Zombie(17-6) for a number one contender fight to determine who would fight the champion, Jose Aldo(31-7).

Unfortunetly Dustin would be defeated by 4th round submission. Both men put it all on the line that night and many MMA media outlets considered this to be the 2012 FOTY.


COMING BACK STRONGER:
Dustin Poirier would not let this loss discorage him. He would continue his journey towards the Featherweight belt and go 4-1 in his next 5 fights.

Jonathan Brookins: Win by 1st round SUB.

Cub Swanson: Defeat by DEC.

Erik Koch: Win by DEC.

Diego Brandao: Win by 1st round KO.

Akira Corassani: Win by 1st round TKO.

THE NOTORIOUS:
After some back and forth over social media, Conor "The Notorious" McGregor(22-6) and Dustin Poirier were booked to fight eachother on September 27th, 2014.

Conor won by 1st round KO, this would be Dustin's first time losing by knockout. These two will meet again later in their careers.

 

[Question]

MOVING UP TO LIGHTWEIGHT:
Dustin figured he was too depleted at Featherweight and decided the best idea for his career was to move up to the Lightweight division. He would go 8-1, 1NC before getting a shot at a world title.

Diego Ferreira: Win by 1st round KO.

Yancy Medeiros: Win by 1st round TKO.

Joseph Duffy: Win by DEC.

Bobby Green: Win by 1st round KO.

Michael Johnson: Defeat by 1st round KO.

Jim Miller: Win by DEC.

Eddie Alvarez: NC(Illegal knee).

Anthony Pettis: Win by 3rd round SUB.

Justin Gaethje: Win by 4th round TKO.

Eddie Alvarez: Win by 2nd round TKO.

FIGHTING FOR GOLD:
Dustin Poirier finally got his chance to fight for gold in the Interim Lightweight Title on April 13th 2019. The fight was set against Max "Blessed" Holloway who was the Featherweight champion at the time and riding a 13 fight winstreak.

The fight was competitive, but Dustin was able to win a decision over Max. Snapping Holloway's winstreak and finally becoming a champion.


THE EAGLE:
Dustin Poirier was now the Interim Champion and set to take on UFC Lightweight Champion, Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov(29-0). The fight was booked for September 7th 2019.

Dustin lost to Khabib by 3rd round submission. Khabib was the undedeated champion at the time and is one of the greatest lightweights of all time.
Dustin was devestated about the loss and even considered retirement. He would eventually comeback after recovering from lingering injuries.

RETURNING AGAINST THE HANGMAN:
Dan "The Hangman" Hooker(21-11) was a lightweight rising up the ranks and calling out top contenders. Dustin Poirier took the fight after having the longest layoff of his professional career.
The bout was set for June 27th 2020.

Dustin won by decision after 5 grueling rounds inside of the UFC Apex.
This was considered one of the best fights of the year.


TRILOGY WITH AND OLD RIVAL:
The Irish superstar Conor McGregor was looking for an opponent for his early 2021 return, he took interest in his former foe Dustin Poirier. The fight was set for January 23rd 2021.

Dustin got the upset 2nd round TKO win over his rival Conor McGregor. Conor had a win over Dustin 6 years previously in 2014. This was the first time Conor lost by knockout.

A trilogy fight was set between the two for July 10th 2021. They were 1-1 before the fight.

The trilogy ended by 1st round TKO(Leg Injury) by Dustin Poirier.
Dustin remained the number one contender after this win and was aiming for another shot at the title.


A SECOND CHANCE AT THE TITLE(UFC 269):
Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier(28-6,1NC) is now set to fight against the Champion of the Lightweight division: Charles "Do Bronx" Oliveira(31-8,1NC). The fight is on December 11th, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena(Las Vegas, Nevada).

Poster:

 

[accolyte1022]

The trilogy ended by 1st round TKO(Leg Injury)*

*DOCTA STOPPAGE!

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Good write up TS!

 

[Fahcough]

Lining gym with fight posters and after a year, he's the only one that's made it.
Bayou Boy Power

Spoiler

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Thanks TS. Awesome post.

And I’m a noob and never noticed before, but did he sub Brookins with the same choke Zombie used on him mere months earlier?

Wonder how often that’s happened….

 

[Question]

Thanks TS. Awesome post.

And I’m a noob and never noticed before, but did he sub Brookins with the same choke Zombie used on him mere months earlier?

Wonder how often that’s happened….

Yeah he did or a variation on it(I'm not an expert, so don't quote me on it lol).

 

[CasualBot]

Charles, round 1.

 

[Question]

Charles, round 1.

Don't worry, I made a thread for both guys!
https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/...ecoming-the-ufc-lightweight-champion.4217257/
Honestly I don't want to see either guy lose, just hoping for a great fight.

 

[ultra321]

Good stuff TS

 

[Holli]

Damn. very high effort thread. enjoyed reading this

 

[Holli]

also, Charles by submission

 

[TARTARA]

Quality
Nice Thread TS

 

[Poirierfan]

Good job

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Wow I had forgotten about alot of this, I never thought of Dustin as a fw contender more of just a guy in the top ten but he was really right there. Also ko'ed r1 Bobby Green is insane considering in 41 fights no one else has.

 

[bambammccoy]

I'm afraid if he loses he will be where JDS was, gets eventually under appreciated despite having best or second best resume in the divisions history.