Facing Juvenile Detention at 10 to $6 Million Empire, How Dustin Poirier Found Redemption Through UFC, Family, & Louisiana Grit

The ‘American Dream’ is not something that comes easily, and lightweight legend Dustin Poirier is perhaps the correct example of that expression. ‘The Diamond’ may be one of the biggest names in Dana White‘s promotion with a high stock among fans, but he wasn’t immune to hardships. But after more than a dozen years in the game, the Lafayette native is finally calling it a career this weekend at UFC 318.

Dustin Poirier’s UFC career is going to come full circle at the upcoming PPV, as he takes on a fighter whom he welcomed into the UFC, Max Holloway. The roles are reversed this time, and UFC 318 marks their final battle. And guess what? The BMF title is on the line, which has added to the drama. But before we get to the PPV in New Orleans, Louisiana, let’s find out why the Story of ‘The Diamond’ is actually a redemption arc that sticks.

Dustin Poirier’s early struggles in Louisiana: How MMA became his escape

Dustin Poirier has been very vocal about his early struggles, as he was a pretty self-destructive kid growing up. By the time he was 10 years old, getting into trouble was simply nothing new for the former UFC interim champion, and as expected, there were consequences to his actions. But if we take a look at the beginning, ‘The Diamond’ grew up without his father, Darrell Poirier, since he was five years old, and it was only his mother, Jere Folley Chiasson, who looked after him.

Poirier often put his mother in stressful situations. One of those situations involved his having problems with going to school. “He was in first grade, maybe kindergarten, and he snuck out of school and walked four blocks to a grocery store and called 911, just to tell them he didn’t want to go,” Dustin’s mother said in an old interview. Meanwhile, one of the most significant events in Dustin Poirier’s life happened at the age of 10and that’s because the lightweight legend loved to get into street fights.

And then came this fight against a 15-year-old, where Dustin Poirier just knocked the kid’s teeth out despite being five years younger. He already had the fighter in him, as it happened in an illegal boxing match, but he certainly lacked direction, and for that, he got summoned to court. But he escaped any severe legal issues at that age. However, the level of chaos grew during his teens, as Poirier even went to juvenile detention during his freshman year.

In 2021, Poirier said, “I dropped out in the ninth grade. I went to juvenile detention around my freshman year, and things just got complicated.” But the UFC star won’t just learn anything because he keeps troubling his mother. She once said, “I delivered pharmaceuticals, and I had two vans… I got off work early one day and was driving home, and I saw my van coming down the other side of the road. And it was Dustin.” After that, school was no longer an option for the 36-year-old.

Well, it was then that ‘The Diamond’ found his path, and he was quite smart because he may not have been good at school, but he was good at fighting. As such, Dustin Poirier would start his training at the Gladiator Academy. “I was training at a boxing gym, and I met some guys who were MMA fighters working on their boxing.  started talking to them and picking their brains and asking them where they trained, and the next week I started doing MMA,” Dustin Poirier added. And as we all know, there was no turning back after that.

Dustin Poirier never felt like he lacked anything in life, but his actions would certainly give us the impression that he didn’t have a purpose. And that’s where his initial effort to start boxing training came into play, as it opened his eyes to realize what he was missing all along. “I wasn’t trying to fill a void, but I had found something that really made me fill a void I didn’t know I had.”

However, Dustin Poirier had a lot of help. People don’t often see the people behind the UFC star. For ‘The Diamond’, it has been his childhood sweetheart-turned-wife, Jolie Poirier, and of course, the other lady in his household, his daughter.

The support of his wife, Jolie Poirier, and daughter

When we talk about Dustin Poirier’s wife, most fans would recall the ugly verbal post-fight smackdown from Conor McGregor. The Irishman would take aim at not only ‘The Diamond’, but at Jolie Poirier as well. But apart from that, she has always steered away from controversy. The UFC star has also revealed that during his time in juvenile detention, Jolie and Dustin were acquaintances, but she was the one communicating with him at that time. It didn’t take him long to realize that she was the perfect partner for him to start a family with.

“When I was in juvenile detention, and me and her might have not even been dating at that time, she was writing me letters every week. One of the only — besides my mother — the only letters I would get was her,” Dustin Poirier stated on ‘Outta Pocket with RGIII’. “And when I got out of juvenile detention, she was there. She drove all the way out, to watch me leave and stuff like that. And I was like, ‘I’m gonna marry this girl.'”

A strong man has often been associated with a strong woman, but for Dustin Poirier, besides Jolie, he also has the love and support of his daughter, Parker Noelle Poirier. That’s why I fight. Not only my daughter, but my wife is an anchor for sure for me. I don’t think I would be as successful as I am business-wise or fight-wise. If she wasn’t in my life at such a young age. And I just realize that how much they mean to me and how happy I am when they are around. I need my girls, man,” Dustin Poirier stated a few years ago.

But let’s get down to the real thing now, which is his UFC legacy in the sport of mixed martial arts. There is a reason why Dustin Poirier is a fan-favorite and one of the top stars in the promotion, and that can be credited to some of the most impressive performances inside the Octagon. Let’s take a look at that front.

Wars in the UFC that defined his MMA legacy

If we talk about Dustin Poirier’s UFC run, six fights come to mind as some of his biggest wars. While he lost some, he also won some. One of the best battles he had was his second fight against Max Holloway at UFC 236, where he was crowned the interim lightweight champion. The fight also became a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender. Then comes Poirier’s first clash against former BMF champion Justin Gaethje at UFC on FOX 29, where he sealed the deal with a hard-earned 4th-round TKO.

Then comes his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. This was Dustin Poirier’s first shot at the undisputed lightweight title, but he failed with a 3rd-round submission loss, but despite that, the fight garnered huge global interest. Finally, we come to his three fights against former UFC double champion Conor McGregor. While the first fight took place in 2014, when both of them were up-and-coming contenders, the second and third fights were big box-office hits for Dana White and Co.

Conor McGregor won the first two fights, but Dustin Poirier would come back with a 2nd-round TKO win at UFC 257. To add insult to injury, ‘The Diamond’ would earn a first-round stoppage victory over ‘The Notorious’ in their trilogy fight at UFC 264. McGregor has since been out of action after his second loss to Poirier. Now, that’s a pretty stacked resume, which may not have been possible if the Lafayette native hadn’t found an avenue to pursue a fighting career and turn his life around.

Dustin Poirier’s legendary career has turned him from a misfit to one of the most recognized athletes in the combat sports space. And while he may sum up fighting inside the Octagon, he’ll continue his pursuit outside of it with his charity work. Let’s take a look there.

Dustin Poirier’s businesses, The Good Fight Foundation, and Impact outside the UFC

Dustin Poirier’s career as a fighter in the UFC and as a star of the promotion has helped him generate a net worth of around $6 million. But his source of income isn’t limited to UFC fights. The Lafayette native has a few businesses, including Poirier’s Louisiana Style Hot Sauce. ‘The Diamond’ includes elements of his Louisiana grit in his hot sauce, which involves the flavors he grew up with. And then, the 36-year-old also launched a whiskey company named Rare Stash in 2022, which is available in almost half of the states in the US.

Poirier got the moniker ‘The Diamond’ because he was friends with Tim Credeur, a former UFC fighter and Louisiana’s first BJJ black belt. Credeur trained Poirier and gave him the name during his amateur days. It was a testament to Poirier’s toughness and ability to flourish under duress.

But perhaps Dustin Poirier’s most important venture is his Good Fight Foundation, which earned a fully registered non-profit status internationally in 2018. The UFC star and his wife work together to help the people in their community and help vulnerable people out.“I am a fighter. It’s what I do. Now I want to fight the good fight for those who can’t,” Dustin Poirier wrote on his foundation’s website. Since the day the UFC star and his wife started their charity work with this foundation, they’ve raised thousands and thousands of dollars for multiple programmes and initiatives.

Dustin Poirier may not have won the undisputed title in the UFC, but he’s made his mark in a way that not many fighters have been able to do. Looking at how successful as a fighter and how genuinely nice as an individual he appears, the current version is a far cry from the one who used to get into trouble. It’ll be interesting to see where life leads the UFC legend after his last fight this weekend, as we ask you to share your thoughts in the comments down below.