Dustin Poirier seems to have a renewed focus after publicly questioning how much longer he will be competing in the sport of MMA.
Since the very first day of 2011, there is one thing in the UFC that has been a constant: A year would not go by without Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier fighting at least one time.
When Poirier says he is “paid in full,” he is referring to the now 36 career fights that you see on paper and the bloodshed he’s spilled that leaves a permanent mark on it.
But even someone as dedicated to the game as Poirier reaches a “breaking point,” where the mind and body has had enough. After a decade of hard toil in this sport, Poirier finally received a chance to become undisputed UFC champion when he faced Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. That bout ended with Nurmagomedov temporarily strangling Poirier’s dreams with a rear-naked choke in the third round.
In true Poirier fashion, “The Diamond” would hit the bounceback button and shine in his next three performances to earn another opportunity at undisputed UFC gold. But at UFC 269, Charles Oliveira, much like Khabib before him, showed Poirier that it was not his time. And he, too, took the air out of Poirier’s dreams via rear-naked choke.
What’s Next For Dustin Poirier?
After a second championship heartbreak fresh on his mind and 12 years of wear and tear on his body, Poirier was uncertain if he would ever fight again. He did say that if he were to fight again, there was only one opponent that excited him: Nate Diaz.
With those fight negotiations having stalled for the time being, where does that leave Poirier and his plans for 2022? Judging by the following Instagram post, it leaves him as a man who has once again rediscovered the fire within and all the optimism that comes with it.
“My next performance will be my best. Someone is getting clapped,” Poirier posted on Instagram.
A short post indeed, but plenty to read there.
Firstly, Poirier’s two-sentence post began with the phrase “My next performance,” which implies that there could be more fights to come afterward. While a “next” performance and a “last” performance is not necessarily mutually exclusive, if nothing else, his vow that it will be his “best” one reveals his confidence in how much he has left to give as a competitor.
As for the second sentence, “Someone is getting clapped,” this line takes a reprieve from his competitive gaze being focused solely on Nate Diaz and appears to reveal a more open, flexible mindset about his next booking.
Speculation aside, there is one thing that can be safely deduced from Poirier’s Instagram post: Much like each of the previous 12 years of his professional MMA career, you can expect 2022 to host a Dustin Poirier performance—as he once again takes to the bounceback trail.
Who would you ideally like to see Dustin Poirier fight in 2022?
