After winning the co-main event of UFC 299 with a sensational Round 2 knockout victory against Benoit Saint-Denis, Dustin Poirier, the former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion, opened up about his struggles with his mental health on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour Podcast.
Dustin Poirier discussed his outlook on fighting, his career and how the fight game affected his mental health after the Justin Gaethje BMF Fight, in which Dustin Poirier got flatlined and knocked out by Justin Gaethje’s head kick victory, even considering retiring.
Dustin Poirier on his mental struggles: I was considering retirement
In a discussion with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour Podcast, Dustin revealed that the loss from the Justin Gaethje bout left Dustin Poirier in a dark place, which made him seriously consider retirement from the sport entirely, as Dustin already had businesses that he had built over time and did not need to fight for the fight purse anymore.
Despite Dustin Poirier’s veteran fighting record of a total of 32 professional MMA fights, he has only been knocked out three times, the third being during the Gaethje fight.
“The world doesn’t know but the people close to me know. I went through some real mental struggles, I was going through some stuff and that’s when I really started practicing mindfulness and setting my intentions and just trying to be grateful for every day,” mentioned Dustin Poirier while discussing the same with Ariel Helwani.
“A lot of people helped me, my friends, business partners here in Louisiana and my wife. I’m just very thankful for her. If I was in her position I don’t know if I could take the stuff she’s taken. I would like to think I could but I’m just grateful to have someone like that.” added Poirier thanking his wife for being there for him throughout his fighting career.
Dustin further added that he had considered retiring on multiple occasions. “A couple of times (considered retirement), worse man it’s very scary. I try to look at things a little bit differently like fighting is just something I do type of mindset, because fighting was everything to me it was my whole life.” added Dustin Poirier
Poirier left in disbelief over Joe Rogan’s commentary
Dustin Poirier mentioned that he watched his fight with Benoit Saint-Denis with his wife once he returned to Louisiana and couldn’t help but notice that UFC analyst Joe Rogan could not stop mentioning how he thought Dustin Poirier was ‘gassed out’
Dustin Poirier expressed disdain for Joe Rogan’s critique of Dustin Poirier’s cardio.
“I rewatched the fight last night with my wife when we got back to Louisiana. Joe Rogan said I was exhausted, said I was tired like five times. Bro, I do not get tired. I have some of the best cardio in this fight sh*t that we do. Like, I can go 25 minutes, hard, cracking the whole time. I can’t believe he said that … I felt good.” said Dustin Poirier on the MMA Hour.
This is not the first time that a fighter has been critical of Joe Rogan’s commentary during a UFC bout. In fact, UFC and MMA fans have called out Joe Rogan for his biased commentary and one-dimensional analysis for ages.
What fight makes sense for Dustin Poirier ahead? Does he deserve a title shot against Islam Makhachev over Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan? Let us know your thoughts
