Dustin Poirier‘s final MMA chapter is nearly here. ‘The Diamond’ will meet Max Holloway in their long-awaited trilogy fight at UFC 318 in New Orleans, finishing off a career marked by grit, redemption, and legend. But, before UFC gold, press interviews, or his own hot sauce business, Poirier was simply a kid in Louisiana, misunderstood, furious, and on a path that looked nothing like the one he is on now.

It’s tempting to frame his story as a clean rise, but that would erase the chaos that molded him. His journey was truly chaotic, which included everything from school halls to juvenile jail cells. He was not groomed for greatness; rather, he struggled for it. Long before he dropped opponents, he dropped out of school permanently. But why? Let’s find out!

The Real Reason Dustin Poirier Dropped Out from the 9th Grade

Poirier never complete ninth grade. He was dismissed from eighth grade for fighting and was sent to juvenile detention. Following that, he attended a boot camp that he described as “prison.” His mother, Jere Chaisson, attempted to intervene, setting up programs and hiring mediators, but nothing worked.

‘The Diamond’ could not be contained within classroom walls or controlled by school policies. His opposition to structure began early. As a kindergartner, he walked out of school, hiked four blocks, and called 911 to say he didn’t want to be there. Later, in eighth grade, he took his mother’s work van out for a spin during the school day. “I see my van coming down the road—and it was Dustin,” Chaisson recalled.

Eventually, his resistance to conforming to the educational system landed him in a military-style camp. He emerged hardened and defiant and never returned to class again. By the age of 16, Poirier had dropped out of high school and had no clear direction other than to avoid anything even resembling a school. But does he regret that decision? What does he think about it now?

Dustin Poirier’s views on dropping out

Years later, Dustin Poirier would admit what he didn’t realize at the time: he was lost. “I was running around aimlessly, without a goal,” he said in an interview. He smoked, partied, and worked for McDonald’s. His girlfriend-turned-wife Jolie remembers it clearly: “He was just kind of struggling to find himself.”

But then something changed. ‘The Diamond’ found a boxing gym when he was 18 years old, and it was his first taste of structure, from which he did not want to leave. “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,” he said.

“I was head over heels with combat. I went to sleep thinking about it. I woke up thinking about it.” As a result, he deserted his old crowd, lost weight, trained relentlessly, and booked his first MMA fight in six months. From then on, school didn’t matter. Fighting did. “It was who I was. I would’ve cut anybody off to continue,” he stated.

“I loved it. And I felt it loved me back at that moment in my life.” For Dustin Poirier, it wasn’t a polished journey. Not by a long shot. And it definitely didn’t come with diplomas or approval. But for a boy who never fit in a classroom, the cage provided structure, purpose, and an escape route he always sought. And now, we are all waiting with bated breath to see him fight, one last time.