Dustin Glenn Poirier, born on January 19, 1989, is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. Poirier turned professional in 2009, quickly compiling a record of 7-0, competing mostly in regional promotions across his native Louisiana and the Southern United States.
The story of a potential showdown between Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz is one filled with anticipation, disappointment, and lingering questions. While the two have never actually met in the Octagon, the possibility of a fight has been a recurring topic in the MMA world. Their paths were set to cross at UFC 230 in 2018, but the bout was ultimately scrapped, leaving fans wondering what could have been.
Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz Fight Breakdown & Prediction
The UFC 230 Cancellation
On August 3, 2018, it was announced that Poirier had agreed to fight Nate Diaz on November 3, 2018, in Madison Square Garden. Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz were supposed to meet in the Octagon at UFC 230 in 2018. However, that fight ended up being scrapped. Around the time this happened Poirier told media that the cancellation was due to a nagging hip injury.
Poirier told Ariel Helwani at the time that training through pain was normal, but that his hip wound up bothering him so much that he couldn’t appropriately prepare for the fight. Three years later Poirier was one of the guests on the first episode of Helwani’s revived The MMA Hour show. During that appearance Poirier hinted that there was more to this story than he initially let on.
“He won’t tell the true story of how the fight fell apart,” Poirier said, referring to Diaz. “I’m the fall guy. I get some injections in my hip, and it looks like I pulled out of the fight, when the fight was already off the table at that point. … I just feel like we’ve got to fight at some point. But we’ll see.”
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Poirier did, in fact, pull out of the UFC 230 event. But critically, he said his decision came after Diaz was ruled out of the matchup. When the news initially broke, it was reported that he had withdrawn from the event and that Diaz would fight another opponent. That made Poirier feel like he was thrown under the bus.
“He was playing a bunch of games with the UFC,” Poirier said of Diaz. “They started off offering me replacement opponents, telling me was off the card. I had a hip problem going on. I let the UFC know. Everyone knew I was gonna fight if it was him. If they use a replacement fighter, I’m out. I’ll fight if it’s him, I’ll push through this training camp, I’m fine, but I need to get this taken care of. And when they started offering replacement opponents, I was like, ‘I’m not fighting these replacement guys.’”
What was really happening was that Diaz was “playing hardball” with the UFC, Poirier said.
Lingering Frustrations and Misconceptions
Poirier’s résumé looks plenty impressive without the addition of Diaz, but he is still bothered by the turn of events that led to the cancellation of the fight - and misconceptions he said still linger about who was at fault. “I would have liked it to happen,” Porier said. “But I would really like for the UFC or for Nate to be honest and tell the truth about why that fight fell apart, because everybody still thinks I pulled out and all this.”
With Helwani Poirier called Diaz’s summation of the situation ‘wolf tickets’. “You know how these negotiations go,” he said. “Unless they’re talking to him, and they said something. … Nothing’s been offered to me. I haven’t spoken to the UFC. I can’t say the same for Nate, for Nathaniel. But like I said, I think they will call me soon.”
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The Elusive Matchup
Poirier was talking about Diaz because the pair have been chatting it up online about a potential bout. Diaz said that means he was now 2-0 against ‘Diamond’.
“He’s a fighter I’ve been watching a long time,” added Poirier. “I think our styles match up well. I think it would be a great fight. But I’m not chasing it. There’s a possibility that it could happen, but on my things-to-do list, that’s not the next thing to do.”
Every time Poirier has tried to coax Diaz into a fight, he’s been let down. “We spoke about Nate a little bit, but I don’t think they’re bringing him back. I’m not sure...I don’t want to get into all that stuff.” “The Nate one’s gonna get away, and I don’t know how many fights I have left - I think six with the UFC,” Poirier said Monday on The MMA Hour. “He’s moving on to boxing and stuff. I just don’t see how our paths will cross. But I just wanted to fight this guy because I grew up watching him.”
This past November, when a fan proposed the long-awaited matchup could take place at the April 13 event, Poirier did what he’s always done in these situations: He poked the bear. “Nathaniel?” he tweeted at Diaz. Nothing happened, as is standard for such tweets at the Stockton star.
Diaz's Current Trajectory
Meanwhile, Diaz’s next step remains in question. After winning his release from the UFC, he went on to box Jake Paul this past August, losing a unanimous decision. Reports of a potential boxing match with one-time octagon opponent Jorge Masvidal have recently swirled around Diaz, as has his interest in fighting at the banner UFC 300 event. UFC CEO Dana White has said The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner will always have a place in the octagon.
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But will it be against Poirier?
Dustin Poirier's Career Highlights
When the two originally were paired for UFC 230, it was still a ways off from the peak of Poirier’s career. He had yet to claim the UFC interim lightweight title, fight for the undisputed title, or claim a pair of victories over Conor McGregor.
Poirier then said that he was hoping for a UFC lightweight title fight with Charles Oliveira before the end of the year. Poirier put himself in prime position to fight for the title after back-to-back TKO wins over Conor McGregor. The first of those came in January, with Poirier finishing the Irishman with punches in the second round. The second victory came after McGregor broke his leg at the end of the first round.
After the UFC/WEC merger, newly crowned UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo was set to make his first defense against No. 1 contender Josh Grispi at UFC 125. Aldo then had to withdraw from the bout due to a back injury on November 23, 2010. Poirier faced Chan Sung Jung on May 15, 2012, in the main event at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. This was the first time Poirier has been put on the main event. Poirier faced Conor McGregor on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. He lost the fight by TKO in the first round. This was the first time Poirier was stopped by strikes. After the loss, Poirier transferred up a weight class to the Lightweight division.
Here's a summary of Dustin Poirier's UFC career highlights:
| Achievement | Event |
|---|---|
| Won interim UFC Lightweight Championship | UFC 236: Holloway vs. Poirier 2 |
| Fight of the Night (Ten times) | Various events |
| Submission of the Night (One time) | UFC on FX TUF Finale: Nelson vs. Brandao |
| Performance of the Night (Four times) | Various events |
Poirier holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under Tim Credeur, but mostly finishes his opponents through his proficiency in the striking arts since the early days of his career in the UFC. In April 2018, Poirier and his wife founded the Good Fight Foundation. After his bout with Nurmagomedov at UFC 242, the two swapped shirts after the fight. Likewise, Poirier announced that he would be auctioning off his UFC 242 fighting equipment to raise funds for the foundation. After the event, Poirier auctioned his fight kit with Nurmagomedov's walkout shirt for $60,200.