Conor McGregor left the Octagon on a stretcher after injuring his ankle at UFC 264. Dustin Poirier downed McGregor during the first round after his ankle seemingly snapped from under him while in the heat of battle. Poirier became the third-quickest to 20 UFC wins, doing so in 26 fights (Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre did so in 22 fights). ‘The Diamond’ has the most KO/TKO in lightweight history with eight.
Dustin Poirier pursued his MMA career in 2009 and he was 7-0 in regional matches across his native Louisiana. His first-round knockout against Daniel Watts at Bang Fighting Championships on October 31, 2009 helped him make a name for himself. Poirier caught even more attention after beating No. 1 contender Josh Grispi at UFC 125 on January 1, 2011. He stepped up to replace then-featherweight champion Jose Aldo, who suffered a back injury and ended up making the most of the opportunity.
His first main event was at UFC on Fuel TV 3 against Chan Sung Jung on May 15, 2012. He was submitted in the fourth round but it was an incredible performance by both fighters. It ended up being the Fight of the Night and many publications considered it the Fight of the Year.
After almost a decade in the UFC, Poirier has fought the best that the promotion has to offer and he’s beaten Max Holloway (twice), Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Dan Hooker and Conor McGregor. Poirier even won the interim lightweight championship against Holloway at UFC 236 on April 13, 2019. Winning the real title is still a goal of his and he’s on the right path. The UFC lightweight title was vacated by retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and the company gave Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler a shot, as Poirier preferred to complete a trilogy with McGregor. Now he will likely get a shot at Oliveira.
Born: January 19, 1989
Age: 32
Country: United States
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 155 lbs
Reach: 72″
Stance: Southpaw
Association: American Top Team
Class: Lightweight
Record: 28-6-0, 1 NC
