Dustin Poirier, from McGregor’s nightmare to suffering a KO that took away ‘his star’

En the modern ‘roster’ of fighters of the UFC there will always be room for praise for Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier (29-8). Probably the best boxer in terms of style and punch in mixed martial arts, a warrior and athlete who always says yes. To his credit there is an interim lightweight title, several missed opportunities to be universal champion and three battles with Conor McGregor. I defeated two. It became a myth. But the UFC is relentless and from stardom to hell there is hardly any distance. Poirier’s career changed when Justin Gaethje, another of his great rivals, knocked him out with a brutal kick to the neck in the fight for the BMF – the title for the baddest guy in the company.

Because he goes from being one of the first for any discussion for the 155-pound world title to having to look for other horizons. Gaethje erased his dreams of being world champion in one fell swoop. He had them after beating McGregor twice. One ended with a knockout next to the fence. Another, in the second most purchased fight in the history of Pay Per View (120 million dollars in profit), after that injury to the Irishman’s tibia and fibula. I didn’t make it. He played ‘the gold’ against Khabib Nurmagomedov, perhaps the only one who really had the option to ‘kill’ the Russian. And he had no options with Charles Oliveira.

There doesn’t seem to be another opportunity. Well, after Gaethje’s KO, the UFC changes the course of its diamond. Instead of keeping him among the main options, it makes him ‘meat for the dogs’. And at UFC 299 he will meet Benoit Saint Denis (13-1) -number 12 on the lists-. A fight between third and 12th is inappropriate. But the UFC prefers the French ‘Son of War’ and if he manages to knock down Poirier his price will rise.. Paris and France knock on the door and Lafayette is only the middle.

It is the reality of the UFC. The closeness between being a champion and falling into oblivion. There are other methods such as looking for big name fights to close a career, but the American chose the complicated one. A “lose-lose” fight, Well, if he wins, it could be said that it was against a fighter outside the top-10… and if he loses, he will hardly have more successes in the lightweight division.

But be there, true to your style. “Perseverance”, he repeats on his social networks. One of the great fighters in recent times returns to the UFC and wants one last dance. Was the McGregor’s nightmare and a kick to the head from Gaethje turned everything around.