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Not the first time Dustin Poirier can be a monkey wrench, but maybe the last
The last time Dustin Poirier came into a fight as an afterthought was at UFC 125, when Jose Aldo compacted some vertebrae in training and was forced out of his title fight with Josh Grispi. Poirier, who arrived in the UFC pretty much anonymously from the WEC well, was a 3-to-1 underdog standing in for Aldo against Grispi on short notice. He was 21 years old and coming down from lightweight. People pronounced his name a dozen different ways, most commonly with two syllables, landing somewhere in the range of the French cheese, gruyère.
Poirier was essentially a formality for Grispi; he wasn’t supposed to be a “Diamond” in the rough.
Yet he was. On New Year’s Day 2011, the Louisianan reminded everyone that the fight game is one of smoke and mirrors, and that careers can be made or broken within 15 minutes of cage time. Poirier dominated the No. 1 contender Grispi, who in effect gambled away his contender status that night and never sniffed a title shot again.
That was Poirier’s first paid gig as a monkey wrench.
Heading into UFC 178 three-and-a-half years later, Poirier, now 25, is in the position to turn the trick again against one of the greatest hype sophisticates in the game, Conor McGregor. Poirier has more experience, more tale of the tape, more evidence of in-fight diversity, more scalps in his collection, and more reverence in the rankings, but what he doesn’t have is McGregor’s gift for sculpting perception.
Even with an 8-2 record in the UFC, Poirier is being set up as a stepping-stone for the “Notorious” McGregor.
“It’s like, man, are you serious? Who is this guy?” Poirier told MMA Fighting. “He’s fought a couple of guys, but I’ve fought a lot of guys, better guys. But you know what, it doesn’t matter. I know who I am, and everybody’s going to find out again.”
UFC president Dana White says that McGregor has the “it” factor, which means he not only wins fight, but he has broader, harder to define magnetism. (One presumes it’s the little things, like carrying the country of Ireland with him to the cage, and the robust beard with a keen sense of capoeira, and that he dresses like a dignitary in bow ties, cufflinks and smart vests, and that he can look equally natural standing under chandeliers or in the gutter, and that he has charisma, audacity and charm to go along with the accent and improbable back-story…little things like that.).
Poirier, who was the subject of a Michael Tucker-directed documentary called “Fightville” in 2011, is a more subdued appeal, one that still feels early in the process of playing out. He calls himself a “young veteran.” In 2014 he is hovering nearer to title contention in merit than McGregor; yet McGregor occupies that same space via the floodgates of fame.
And that’s what gives this fight a sense of bigness at UFC 178 — it’s either the meshing of stardom with merit, or the unveiling of an impostor.
If McGregor is for real, he’ll be able to get through Poirier, who feels as though he is fighting not only for himself but for the entire cast of disrespected featherweights who’ve stood by and watched the UFC hoist McGregor’s star into the sky.
“Yeah, they’ve given him a lot of hype and have been pushing him and all that, and I’m not sure if it’s because of him representing such a big market in Ireland or because they really might think they have something with this guy,” Poirier says. “But man, I’ve built where I’m at with my bare hands, you know? And I take pride in that. And when they do that to guys…I’ve been busting my ass to be where I’m at. I live this life.
“Then again, hey, that’s fighting, man. I get a chance to go out there and beat him. I’m not going to sit here and whine about it. I can’t change the fact that the UFC is doing that, or that they really like this guy. All I can do is prepare to whip his ass.”
Even before McGregor defeated Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin to make it 3-0 in the UFC, Poirier has been calling for the fight. The reason for that is simple.
“I don’t like the guy — I don’t like him as a person,” he says. “I think he talks a big game, like he wants to fight, and that he wants to be in the dog fight. He talks like he’s that kind of person.
“But if you watch his footage I don’t think he is. He’s knocked guys out, but he’s more of a point-fighter. He wants to throw stuff and look pretty and be unorthodox and circle. He doesn’t want to fight. So I’m going to bring the fight to him. I’m going to stay in his face. I have ultimate confidence in my skills on the feet and on the ground, so I feel like I can finish him anywhere it goes. I’m just going to get in there and be the bully. He tries to bully guys [outside the cage]; we’ll see how he handles it when it happens to him [inside].”
Should Poirier derail the McGregor hype train on Saturday night, it’s unclear if it will be enough to earn him a title shot — even though he’d then have four wins in a row. Aldo is set to defend the belt in a rematch with Chad Mendes at UFC 179 in October in Brazil, and Cub Swanson — who is the only guy to have defeated Poirier in the last two years — is looming. The UFC is talking about matching Swanson with Frankie Edgar. Ricardo Lamas is out there, and he has a fight with Dennis Bermudez lined up for November.
Because of the featherweight congestion, Poirier says he expects to have to fight again if he gets by McGregor. And it’s a hell of a spot he’s in on Saturday night. A win keeps him moving towards the belt. But a win also means he will have brought a fresh UFC narrative to an anticlimactic conclusion. He can take out Conor McGregor. Just like with Grispi, Poirier could be the crasher of all tomorrow’s parties.
He has the chance to redirect some fates. Big spot, right?
Poirier is glowing with those orange embers, but he’s quick to point out that, on whole, it’s just another fight.
“I have a long ways to go, but I’ve already been down a long path,” he says. “This is my 29th mixed martial arts fight, and I’m 25 years old. I’m comfortable. It’s been such a journey of learning and honing your skills I feel like I’ve still got a long, long ways to go. Every fight, every camp I learn about myself and I get better. But every fight I get better. I try to work on the small things. At this level of fighting and where I’m at now, it comes down to timing. I think I’m going to be one of the best in the world. It’s just putting it all together.”
The last time Dustin Poirier came into a fight as an afterthought was at UFC 125, when Jose Aldo compacted some vertebrae in training and was forced out of his title fight with Josh Grispi. Poirier, who arrived in the UFC pretty much anonymously from the WEC well, was a 3-to-1 underdog standing in for Aldo against Grispi on short notice. He was 21 years old and coming down from lightweight. People pronounced his name a dozen different ways, most commonly with two syllables, landing somewhere in the range of the French cheese, gruyère.
Poirier was essentially a formality for Grispi; he wasn’t supposed to be a “Diamond” in the rough.
Yet he was. On New Year’s Day 2011, the Louisianan reminded everyone that the fight game is one of smoke and mirrors, and that careers can be made or broken within 15 minutes of cage time. Poirier dominated the No. 1 contender Grispi, who in effect gambled away his contender status that night and never sniffed a title shot again.
That was Poirier’s first paid gig as a monkey wrench.
Heading into UFC 178 three-and-a-half years later, Poirier, now 25, is in the position to turn the trick again against one of the greatest hype sophisticates in the game, Conor McGregor. Poirier has more experience, more tale of the tape, more evidence of in-fight diversity, more scalps in his collection, and more reverence in the rankings, but what he doesn’t have is McGregor’s gift for sculpting perception.
Even with an 8-2 record in the UFC, Poirier is being set up as a stepping-stone for the “Notorious” McGregor.
“It’s like, man, are you serious? Who is this guy?” Poirier told MMA Fighting. “He’s fought a couple of guys, but I’ve fought a lot of guys, better guys. But you know what, it doesn’t matter. I know who I am, and everybody’s going to find out again.”
UFC president Dana White says that McGregor has the “it” factor, which means he not only wins fight, but he has broader, harder to define magnetism. (One presumes it’s the little things, like carrying the country of Ireland with him to the cage, and the robust beard with a keen sense of capoeira, and that he dresses like a dignitary in bow ties, cufflinks and smart vests, and that he can look equally natural standing under chandeliers or in the gutter, and that he has charisma, audacity and charm to go along with the accent and improbable back-story…little things like that.).
Poirier, who was the subject of a Michael Tucker-directed documentary called “Fightville” in 2011, is a more subdued appeal, one that still feels early in the process of playing out. He calls himself a “young veteran.” In 2014 he is hovering nearer to title contention in merit than McGregor; yet McGregor occupies that same space via the floodgates of fame.
And that’s what gives this fight a sense of bigness at UFC 178 — it’s either the meshing of stardom with merit, or the unveiling of an impostor.
If McGregor is for real, he’ll be able to get through Poirier, who feels as though he is fighting not only for himself but for the entire cast of disrespected featherweights who’ve stood by and watched the UFC hoist McGregor’s star into the sky.
“Yeah, they’ve given him a lot of hype and have been pushing him and all that, and I’m not sure if it’s because of him representing such a big market in Ireland or because they really might think they have something with this guy,” Poirier says. “But man, I’ve built where I’m at with my bare hands, you know? And I take pride in that. And when they do that to guys…I’ve been busting my ass to be where I’m at. I live this life.
“Then again, hey, that’s fighting, man. I get a chance to go out there and beat him. I’m not going to sit here and whine about it. I can’t change the fact that the UFC is doing that, or that they really like this guy. All I can do is prepare to whip his ass.”
Even before McGregor defeated Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin to make it 3-0 in the UFC, Poirier has been calling for the fight. The reason for that is simple.
“I don’t like the guy — I don’t like him as a person,” he says. “I think he talks a big game, like he wants to fight, and that he wants to be in the dog fight. He talks like he’s that kind of person.
“But if you watch his footage I don’t think he is. He’s knocked guys out, but he’s more of a point-fighter. He wants to throw stuff and look pretty and be unorthodox and circle. He doesn’t want to fight. So I’m going to bring the fight to him. I’m going to stay in his face. I have ultimate confidence in my skills on the feet and on the ground, so I feel like I can finish him anywhere it goes. I’m just going to get in there and be the bully. He tries to bully guys [outside the cage]; we’ll see how he handles it when it happens to him [inside].”
Should Poirier derail the McGregor hype train on Saturday night, it’s unclear if it will be enough to earn him a title shot — even though he’d then have four wins in a row. Aldo is set to defend the belt in a rematch with Chad Mendes at UFC 179 in October in Brazil, and Cub Swanson — who is the only guy to have defeated Poirier in the last two years — is looming. The UFC is talking about matching Swanson with Frankie Edgar. Ricardo Lamas is out there, and he has a fight with Dennis Bermudez lined up for November.
Because of the featherweight congestion, Poirier says he expects to have to fight again if he gets by McGregor. And it’s a hell of a spot he’s in on Saturday night. A win keeps him moving towards the belt. But a win also means he will have brought a fresh UFC narrative to an anticlimactic conclusion. He can take out Conor McGregor. Just like with Grispi, Poirier could be the crasher of all tomorrow’s parties.
He has the chance to redirect some fates. Big spot, right?
Poirier is glowing with those orange embers, but he’s quick to point out that, on whole, it’s just another fight.
“I have a long ways to go, but I’ve already been down a long path,” he says. “This is my 29th mixed martial arts fight, and I’m 25 years old. I’m comfortable. It’s been such a journey of learning and honing your skills I feel like I’ve still got a long, long ways to go. Every fight, every camp I learn about myself and I get better. But every fight I get better. I try to work on the small things. At this level of fighting and where I’m at now, it comes down to timing. I think I’m going to be one of the best in the world. It’s just putting it all together.”
