A tweet on Feb. 1 from Dustin Poirier on an otherwise sleepy Thursday morning sent the MMA world into a frenzy for a couple of hours. Poirier tweeted at 9:02 a.m. that his fight in the co-main event of UFC 299 at The Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., against Benoit Saint Denis was off. There was no further explanation, and speculation as to the reason why ran rampant.
Much of it centered around the notion that Poirier was somehow afraid to face Saint Denis, a one-time member of the French special forces who has been on a tear, winning each of his last five bouts by finish.
Let that thought percolate for a moment ... Dustin Poirier is afraid to fight someone.
Yeah, right.
This is a guy who would have signed on the dotted line to face a prime Andre the Giant if they'd provided him with a paycheck and directions to the arena.
Now, a month later and only a few days before the bout, Poirier didn't want to delve in specifics about why he'd thought the fight was off. He said there was a miscommunication with his manager, former UFC fighter Tiki Ghosn, which led to confusion and his tweet. He spoke to Ghosn subsequently that day and was back on the card within a matter of hours.
But let's consider for a moment what could possibly have made anyone think that Poirier would turn down a fight because he was afraid.
Since the start of 2017, Poirier is 9-3, an impressive record in the UFC at any point, though two of those defeats came in his last three bouts.
It's important to consider who he fought in those 12 bouts. In ascending order, he fought:
| Jim Miller | 2/11/17 | Majority dec win | Miller UFC's all-time wins leader | |
| Eddie Alvarez | 5/13/17 | No contest | Alvarez ex-lightweight champ | |
| Anthony Pettis | 11/11/17 | Sub by body triangle | Pettis former lightweight champ | |
| Justin Gaethje | 4/14/19 | TKO 4 | Gaethje future BMF champ | |
| Eddie Alvarez | 7/28/18 | TKO 2 | Alvarez ex-lightweight champ | |
| Max Holloway | 4/13/19 | Unanimous dec win | Holloway ex-featherweight champ | |
| Khabib Nurmagomedov | 9/7/19 | L by rear naked choke sub | Nurmagomedov lightweight champ | |
| Dan Hooker | 6/27/20 | Unanimous dec win | Hooker ranked No. 5 at time | |
| Conor McGregor | 1/24/21 | TKO 2 | McGregor ex-double UFC champ | |
| Conor McGregor | 7/10/21 | TKO 1 | McGregor ex-double UFC champ |
| Charles Oliveira | 12/11/21 | L by rear naked choke sub | Oliveira lightweight champ | |
| Michael Chandler | 11/12/22 | W by rear nake choke sub | Chandler ranked No. 5 at time |
| Justin Gaethje | 7/29/23 | L by KO2 (head kick) | Gaethje wins BMF title |
There wasn't an easy win among them and many of those he fought ranked among the greatest fighters in UFC history.
Poirier is used to fighting killers, and if the UFC as a collective represents the best MMA fighters in the world, he was fighting the elite of the elite. So when management offered him the bout with Saint Denis, who is ranked No. 12, he was confounded for a short moment.
"At first, when I heard the name, I was like, 'What? What are you guys talking about?' " Poirier said. "I thought it would be a former champ, or one of the guys at the top or a legacy type of fight, something like that. But when they said his name, I was like, 'Oh, this young, hungry lion. That's what we're doing?' OK. Let's see. Let's find out if I still got it.' "
And after a lengthy training camp, Poirier feels like he still has it.
And so, even after dropping two of his last three, including the head kick knockout loss to Gaethje in the BMF title fight at UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Poirier loves his position. He's been fighting professionally nearly half of his life and has wins over some of the best to ever do it.
His resumé takes a back seat to no one's. And so while it may seem like there's no upside for a guy in his spot, ranked No. 3, to take on an up-and-comer ranked 12th, that's not how Poirier looks at things.
"I think with my track record and what I've done throughout my career, I'm one finish or one big win from a top guy or a title fight at all times," Poirier said. "It's just where I'm at, what I've done in my career. But what was enticing to find out. This was a me looking at myself in the mirror type-of-thing. I'm 35 years old. This guy is 27 or 28 (actually 28), finished his last five opponents.
"If you look at the fights I've taken, like the fight against Gaethje, I didn't have to take that fight. But it made me nervous. I felt like I had to do it. The obstacle is the way. That's what we're doing here, man. It's a good feeling and you have to get through it. I'm going to stand in front of this young, hungry guy and test myself. That's what I'm doing here. This is exciting."
Given his history, one would expect nothing less from Dustin Poirier.