Exclusive: Louisiana's AJ Fletcher shares never-heard-before Dustin Poirier story from their first interaction
Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is very well known for his humble personality and a fan favorite for his wholesome demeanor.
UFC welterweight AJ Fletcher related an incident in a recent exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw.
Fletcher, a Louisana native, the same as Poirier, described his first meeting with 'The Diamond'. Dustin Poirier's interest in a 'cool' move by 'The Ghost' portrayed his willingness to learn combat regardless of a person's reputation.
Fletcher said:
"The first time I met Dustin Poirier, he asked me how I did a certain move. I had no f*****g clue what I was doing. I was an amateur and I did something like a little foot sweep that I saw off YouTube or something. He thought it was cool. And having that kind of mindset, that growth kind of mindset, where, if you're able to learn from a two-fight amateur or even a 65-year-old-guy that has no dreams of competion."
AJ Fletcher is set to take on Bryan Battle at UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot this weekend in his fourth octagon appearance.
Welterweight contender Gilbert Burns wants to face Dustin Poirier if he potentially moves up
Dustin Poirier's last loss at lightweight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 prompted him to tease a move up to the welterweight division.
Poirier's cryptic post on X (formerly Twitter) got other fighters immediately vying for a matchup. Welterweight sensation Shavkat Rakhmonov quoted his post with a similarly cryptic response.
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns also called Poirier out for a fight while stating that it would make better sense for the former interim lightweight champ to face off against a top contender.
Burns does not mind waiting for a strong matchup as he recovers from an injury suffered at UFC 288. He spoke in an interview on MMA Fighting's Trocacao Franca podcast, saying:
“If you ask me which fight I wanted, it’s Dustin Poirier. He’s moving up and that would be a super cool fight, but everyone’s calling him out, everybody wants him, so I won’t talk too much about it. But it’s a cool fight because of his name because he’s moving up. It makes sense for him to fight against a top five [welterweight]. There’s no point fighting someone ranked at 13 or 14. It does nothing for me now. I’m already waiting anyway, so I’ll wait for a good fight.” [h/t MMA Fighting]
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