“I’m Mr. Bounce Back” - Dustin Poirier expresses relief returning to victory after tough defeat against Justin Gaethje
Former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier opened his account for the year in style after losing his only fight last year.
Poirier took on Benoit Saint-Denis in the co-main event of UFC 299 and knocked out the Frenchman in the second round. His last outing against Justin Gaethje for the symbolic 'BMF' title ended in a tough head kick knockout loss.
'The Diamond' explained the significance of gettin back in the win column in an interview on The MMA Hour. He also detailed his meticulous preparation and isolating himself in fight camp to increase focus. Speaking to Ariel Helwani, he said:
"Dude, they all [wins] are [sweet]. I mean, it’s always nice to bounce back, you know. I am Mr. Bounce Back. To ride the ship, to get back in the win column after you know, a devastating loss like the Gaethje fight. Just to do s**t the right way, have a great training camp, really focus. You know, I practiced a lot of mindfulness this camp, I kind of block myself out from everybody. I have so many people to catch up with because I didn’t respond to any texts, I didn’t answer any calls, like I was just freaking..."
Poirier also mentioned that the Gaethje loss stung him and was added incentive to make things right again. He added:
"I took myself into another place this training camp. [Have not done that] to that extreme [before]. Even my family, I haven’t spoken to my father in like eight or nine weeks. He was calling me all throughout camp, he called me on fight day. I didn’t return any calls to anyone. I just wanted to block everything out and really, fully 100% focus on this fight."
Check out Dustin Poirier's full comments on YouTube below (0:45):
Ali Abdelaziz says Islam Makhachev is down to fight Dustin Poirier after latter's impressive win at UFC 299
Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev took to X (formerly Twitter) and praised Dustin Poirier's performance in the co-main event of UFC 299 against Benoit Saint Denis.
Makhachev's longtime manager, Ali Abdelaziz, followed up by proposing a matchup between the two in June, citing that all other top lightweights are already booked. Abdelaziz wrote:
"Dustin Poirier took a huge risk tonight and came out on top and looked amazing. Dustin vs @MAKHACHEVMMA in June especially since everyone else has fights. If the UFC is good with this then Islam would be game."
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's post below: