Dustin Poirier recently talked about how he overcame mental roadblocks after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Poirier took on the undisputed lightweight champ Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. After losing the fight via submission, ‘The Diamond’ talks about a moment in his hotel room when it hit him.

He said, “Like a reality that hit me–this could have been it, this could have been the chance, and I just blew it.” Now too, when on a run, he finds these negative thoughts creep into his mind. However, now he implements a new technique of dealing with those thoughts.

Talking about how he deals with that feeling now, Dustin said, “I’ve just got to slap myself around and say, ‘Hey, don’t talk to yourself like that.” Further adding, “Hey, this is all going to work out. But at the same time, when thoughts do creep in like that, I’m thankful for the journey, honestly. The obstacle is the way. That’s the beauty of what we do.”

Viewing things from this perspective has helped Poirier so far. Since his loss to Khabib, he has bounced back in a major way, taking down the extremely tough and durable Dan Hooker in a five round war and stopping the biggest draw in the sport Conor McGregor, twice.

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Mental practices Dustin Poirier uses to focus and be positive.

Along with practicing positive thinking, Poirier also maintains a Gratitude Journal. In the journal, he writes all the things he’s thankful for in his life. He has been doing this for the past three years and the effects are visible.

‘The Diamond’ mentioned working with Jeff Jordan, a mental coach who has worked with many UFC athletes. Poirier also practices focusing only on the things he can control and shutting out the things that he can’t. It is rather fascinating to see this side of the former champ, who usually appears stoic and unbothered by the things happening around him. It feels like peeking behind the curtain of a warrior and realizing he’s just as human as the rest of us.

Dustin Poirier will take on Charles Oliveira at the upcoming UFC 269 for the Undisputed lightweight belt. This fight might be his last shot at undisputed gold and fans around the world will be tuning in to see if he can make the most of it.

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