Dustin Poirier Made his first appearance to most MMA viewers back at WEC 50. Little did we know that he had a documentary about his life and rise through the MMA ranks as a top featherweight on the smaller circuits already in the can.The Louisiana native bounced back from his loss to Danny Castillo with an absolutely destructive performance against Zach Micklewright a few months later. Then the unthinkable happened and the WEC merged with big brother UFC. Just a few weeks later Dustin ‘Diamond’ got the call to step in against the UFC featherweight number one contender in Josh Grispi, who he soundly defeated. Drama is no stranger to Poirier and at only 22, the sky is the limit for this fighter, thankfully his tale will soon be viewable by all in Fightville.
What was it like seeing yourself on the big screen? It was awesome, that was the first time it ever happened so it was weird, pretty weird when you see it up there but definitely a good experience.
What are you the most proud of in Fightville? The way it shows my dedication and work ethic, another thing I’m proud about, is after they saw the movie a bunch of movie guys, people who nothing about the sport of mixed martial arts came up to me and said ‘man that was amazing, that was incredible’ That’s when I knew the movie was good.
What was the most challenging part about making the movie? Not too many problems, getting used to the cameras, that might have taken a couple practices or so, getting in front of the camera and talking. But after a while I didn’t even notice them anymore.
Can you explain how Michael Tucker approached you to be in the movie? Sure, he was doing another movie on veterans and one of the guys was a fighter and was on the same card as him. I knocked my opponent out and caught Michael’s eye so he talked to the promoter and the rest is history.
What do you hope an MMA novice takes away from Fightville? Is there a message to be sent via Fightville? Yeah it shows up and coming guys that MMA is a way of life, to be a professional fighter is not a hobby. You have to live it and do it every single day and its hard and that shows in the movie. Sometimes it’s right place right time but you have to put in the dedication to Mixed Martial Arts.
What will a hardcore MMA fan get out of this movie? They will enjoy it too, there will be fans who maybe have seen some of my fights in the WEC or the one in the UFC and maybe they are interested. I’m still pretty new on the scene but maybe they will enjoy it, to see where I come from and train.
Speaking of that UFC fight, you beat the number one contender to Jose Aldo in Josh Grispi, when do you think you deserve a title shot? Oh man…I don’t know about that, I don’t know if it’s my time. I want to be ready you know? I’m still new I’m 22 years old and I don’t know how these fights are gonna go. I will wait my time. This is my 20th fight, I just want to build and get better and I want to build to that and be more developed as a fighter and be more complete. I don’t want my shot when I’m not ready. Maybe when I’m more comfortable.
What part of your game do you feel uncomfortable about? Maybe my wrestling, I’m not too uncomfortable anywhere, but to challenge a world champ right now, may be I just want to be battle tested a little more.
So you’re in Louisiana training with Tim Credeur, what is that like? He’s got a good work ethic, just like me he lives the lifestyle and we train hard every single day. He’s also a real good friend of mine. He invited me to his gym, we met and it kind of clicked and now he’s one of my best friends and my trainer and he knows the fight game and how to be successful.
If someone had one day in Louisiana where would you tell them to go? New Orleans, have some fun. See some cool stuff out there.
Anything specific? Bourbon street is cool, the french market is just crazy, there is so much cool stuff to see.
What does Mark Hominick have to do to beat Jose Aldo at UFC 129? Find the off button, land that big shot, that’s the only way I see him beating him. He’s got some decent power in his feet and hands but I just don’t see him winning this fight man. His combinations but Jose is a scrapper and you’re not going to overwhelm him with combinations you have to put him out. He’s not going to cover up, I think Hominick has to find his chin and land a big shot.
You have mentioned in previous interviews that you need a lot of mental strength to be an MMA fighter. Do you think that strength is developed or are you born with it? Everyone is born with a certain confidence, but you can develop it. Sometimes I feel like I need to work on mine so I meditate a lot. For mental strength for a fight I just sit down and think about the fight and everything that could happen. I don’t go in thinking that I’m invincible and that I;m unbeatable. This is the top talent in the world and just knowing that anything can happen and you aren’t superhuman really empowers you and gives you the mental strength to deal with it. When you go in expecting the worst to happen or are open and real with it, anything less than that is a walk in the park. If you are ready and willing to bleed for 15 minutes and that doesn’t happen its easy. Get yourself ready for the worst and anything less than that is an easy day.
