Dustin Poirier is the No.4 ranked lightweight in the UFC. A former interim UFC lightweight champion, Poirier is famous for his two wins over Conor McGregor in 2021 but has always been commended for his ability to make weight in competition. So how does he do it?
The Diamond is the only fighter in history to face McGregor three times and the only opponent to beat The Notorious twice, doing so in consecutive bouts at UFC 257 and 264.
Although Poirier has held the interim belt, he has never been a UFC champion. He has challenged twice for the UFC’s 155-pound title but was submitted during both bouts. The Diamond lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 269. Just recently, UFC President Dana White announced that Poirier will challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship.
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The Diamond began his career in 2009 as a lightweight fighter for the USA MMA promotion. From 155 pounds, Dustin made his UFC debut at the 145-pound featherweight division by defeating Josh Grispi at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day 2011. Poirier stayed at the 145-pound weight class until 2015 when he scored a first-round knockout against Carlos Diego Ferreira in his return to lightweight.
Poirier weighed in at 156 pounds during his 2018 rematch against former champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC on Fox 30. The Diamond knocked out Alvarez inside two rounds, avenging their first bout where Alvarez was disqualified for landing illegal knees to a downed Poirier.
He tipped the scales at 154.5 pounds during his UFC 236 showdown against then-featherweight champion Max Holloway where they fought for the interim UFC lightweight belt. Poirier won via unanimous decision earning a 49-46 score across all three judges’ scorecards. After the fight, Poirier admitted that he hydrated to 176 pounds on the day of the fight.
Dustin was listed at 155 pounds when he fought Khabib and hit the scales at 154.5 when he fought Oliveira. The highest weight at which Poirier has weighed in for a bout was 159 pounds, a catchweight set when he battled Yancy Medeiros at UFC Fight Night 68.
The bout was supposed to be at lightweight but Medeiros could not make weight. Poirier recorded a first-round knockout win over Medeiros in a Performance of the Night award winner.