Dustin Poirier put in an impressive showing in his last fight. As a result of beating Dan Hooker, ‘The Diamond’ has ascended a spot in the UFC Lightweight fighter’s rankings. Now he sits at 2nd and is only behind Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Interim Champion Justin Gaethje.
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The fighter is a name to reckon with in the division and completely dominated before falling to ‘The Eagle’ in a title unification bout at UFC 242. As per ‘The Diamond’, the losses have made him stronger and given him the ability to be comfortable in his skin. He says the turnaround came due to a defeat, six years ago at UFC 178.
In a chat with ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani, ‘The Diamond’ said, “It definitely started happening after the Conor McGregor loss. That was the start of it and it’s been a long process. And then being a father and losing again. Winning some and losing again and winning another one.”
“You stop caring about the noise”- Dustin Poirier
Poirier opines that as a fighter evolves they start shutting out the things that don’t matter. He said, “It’s a long evolution of stop caring so much. You stop caring about the noise and the stuff that doesn’t matter.”
Initially, ‘The Diamond’ would pay heed to every opinion about himself on social media. He revealed that it was after this fight that he began to not bother too much about opinions.
“Cause a lot of time in my younger career I felt that it was life or death. Every comment on Instagram, on Twitter. Every journalist who said something. I felt like everybody was against me. I felt like if I lost I would be written off. It’s the end of my career. I’m a bum if I lose this fight. And then you lose a few times you still realize (expletive) can still put this back together.”
However, soon one realizes that the money is coming in and there is a desire to do what needs to be done. ‘The Diamond’ claims to have become what he is due to all these trying experiences and learning curves.
“Oh man, I’m still providing for my family. I’m still loving what I do. It’s like you’ve been bent but not broken… a lot of times I feel that it made me stronger and made me the man that I am today. I’m happy. I’m genuinely happy.”
Since falling to ‘Notorious’ in the first round, ‘The Diamond’ has lost just twice whilst notching up ten wins. He has beaten the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, and Max Holloway.
What do you make of Dustin Poirier’s change in outlook as he grew as a fighter?
