Rivalries: Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier has undergone a metamorphosis since he linked arms with the Ultimate Fighting Championship on New Year’s Day in 2011, having transformed from prospect to action hero to perennial contender.

Believed to be at the peak of his powers, Poirier sports a 25-6 record with 19 finishes, and in terms of sheer entertainment value, few have delivered bang for buck with more consistency. The 31-year-old American Top Team thoroughbred last appeared at UFC 242 in September, when he submitted to a third-round rear-naked choke from the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov and failed in his bid to capture the undisputed lightweight championship. The setback—Poirier’s first in nearly three years—closed the book on a four-fight winning streak for the Lafayette, Louisiana, native and moved him backward in the 155-pound queue.

As Poirier prepares to face the surging Dan Hooker on May 16, here are some of the rivalries that have helped mold him into one of the top lightweights on the planet:

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Max Holloway

Poirier scaled the mountain one rock at a time in a decade-long struggle to reach the top. The American Top Team export outstruck and overpowered Holloway to a unanimous decision, as he laid claim to the interim lightweight title in the UFC 236 main event on April 13, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Poirier curried favor from all three judges, drawing 49-46 marks on their scorecards. Holloway, the reigning UFC featherweight champion, was met with immediate resistance. Poirier connected with surprising regularity and force, wobbling the Hawaiian more than once in a dominant, tone-setting first round. Holloway answered in spurts but could not match the Lafayette, Louisiana, native shot for shot in terms of firepower. Poirier outpaced his counterpart in the first, second and fifth rounds, withstood a ferocious assault on his body and exacted a serious toll in their standup exchanges. “The Diamond” landed virtually all blows of consequence, butchered Holloway’s face—a fourth-round knee strike resulted in an enormous vertical gash between the Hawaiian’s eyes—and drove value in his stock to an all-time high. Poirier has won both of his head-to-head meetings with Holloway, having submitted the Gracie Technics rep with a triangle armbar back in 2012.

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Conor McGregor

The eventual two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder took out Poirier with a straight left behind the ear and follow-up punches in the first round of their UFC 178 featherweight showcase on Sept. 27, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Poirier, who had never before been finished by strikes, met his end 1:46 into Round 1. McGregor backed up the Louisianan with a series of spinning attacks, stood him up with a clean right to the face and picked his spots from there. A straight left to the side of the ducking Poirier’s head dropped him to all fours and left him vulnerable to subsequent blows. Hammerfists and jackhammer lefts from McGregor forced referee Herb Dean to intervene, the buzz around the blossoming Irish superstar continuing to build. Five-plus years later, Poirier openly seeks a rematch with “Mystic Mac.”

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Justin Gaethje

It felt like Poirier and Gaethje left pieces of themselves strewn across the Octagon. No one expected anything less. Poirier made a significant move in the lightweight division, as he put away the former World Series of Fighting champion with punches in the fourth round of their UFC on Fox 29 headliner on April 14, 2018 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Gaethje succumbed to blows 33 seconds into Round 4. It was a beautifully brutal encounter. Gaethje targeted the inside of the American Top Team standout’s lead leg with repeated kicks and zeroed in on his head with the thudding power punches. Poirier returned fire, withstood his counterpart’s breakneck pace and capitalized when the opportunity to finish presented itself. The statistical data they generated was startling: Poirier and Gaethje combined to land 295 total strikes, 289 of them significant.