Following Conor McGregor’s comprehensive victory against Diego Brandao on Saturday night, the UFC have rewarded the Dubliner with his toughest fight yet; a match-up with #6 ranked featherweight Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier at UFC 178 in Las Vegas.
Poirier was born in Louisiana, USA and is one of the most promising prospects in the UFC despite being just 25-years-old. The American fighter is 8-2-0 in the UFC with his only losses coming to Cub Swanson and the popular Chan Sung Yung, more commonly known as the ‘Korean Zombie’.
This defeat in 2012 won the Fight of the Night bonus in many MMA publications and sports magazines around the world. Currently sitting in the top ten of the featherweight division, Poirier has notable wins over Erik Koch as well as former McGregor opponents Max Holloway and Diego Brandao.
Poirier earned the nickname ‘The Diamond’ because he is one of the hardest men in the UFC, an opponent who won’t give up but also because he is incredibly likeable character, just look at how he relaxes after a fight.
Though he suffered a disappointing loss to the ‘Korean Zombie’, Poirier learned a lot from that defeat and combined with his decision loss to Swanson, he has returned a sharper, more rounded fighter.
He has a destructive striking game as well as being equally comfortable on the ground, holding a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and ending three of his UFC fights by submission. He defeated Diego Brandao in December last year in a similarly impressive fight to McGregor’s last Saturday.
Poirier dominated the fight and knocked-out Brandao in the closing seconds of the first round. In his very first UFC fight he faced then #1 contender Josh Grispi on short notice, Poirier dominated the fight and won by unanimous decision thus announcing himself to the UFC world.
Recently Poirier has added his two cents, along with a number of UFC fighters including Luke Barnett and Cole Miller who have claimed McGregor is getting special treatment from the UFC. They don’t believe that McGregor deserves to be ranked in the top ten fighters in the featherweight division or that he deserves to be getting a top ten opponent after just three UFC fights.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Poirier said; “Right off the bat I’ve been fired up about this guy. I’ve been in this division since the WEC merged. I’ve paid my dues, and I’ve stayed quiet and busted my ass, day in, day out, won the fights I needed to win, and I’ve had some tough fights.
“I feel I need to be up there. I need to be up there where people are talking about me. [McGregor’s] name and the featherweight title should never come out of anybody’s mouth. I can’t believe the hype he’s getting.”
BREAKING NEWS!! @DustinPoirier vs. @TheNotoriousMMA official for #UFC178 – Wow! pic.twitter.com/MhHBtCKKIr
— UFC United Kingdom (@UFC_UK) July 22, 2014
Poirier believes that he will be the one to stall the meteoric rise of Conor McGregor in the UFC and has stated that, “I will be the first real fight that he has ever been in.” He also proceeded to comment on the Irish MMA fans who have been harassing him on Twitter, telling them to continue to “build [McGregor] up because it’s going to make it that much sweeter when I stand over him.”
This fight will no doubt be the toughest test that McGregor has ever faced in his UFC career. Until now, McGregor has fought opponents who could not be considered top class performers in the division.
On September 27 later this year, at UFC 178, McGregor will face a completely different animal to what he has faced so far. Poirier is one of the top contenders in the division and is arguably just a couple of wins away from earning a title shot with champion Jose Aldo. This will be a huge examination of the Dubliner’s credentials, as up until now McGregor has talked a big game but this is the fight where we will really see if he can deliver.
We can’t wait for UFC 178 and below is a highlight video of Poirier to get you in the mood…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0asqAuuqQsY
Videos via DreistStudios and UFC- Ultimate Fighting Championship
