Lightweight contender Dustin Poirier used to not care how much damage he took in training or in fights. Coming off a huge win over Jim Miller, the natural scrapper told The Extra Rounds Podcast that being around champions and veterans has helped him learn to be smarter and better preserve his body and mind.
“I’ve got to spend a lot of time with Robbie Lawler these last few years and he’s had a long career and he got to the mountaintop and won the belt. Just talking to him and picking his brain and learning things from him and guys like Thiago Alves [has helped],” he said.
“Being around guys like Mike Brown, the best guys in the world who have been doing this for their whole lives and learning bits and pieces from them. I’m a listener and just being around these guys I learn a lot…Now, when I’m not in camp, I’m preserving my body. I’m not out here sparring every day.”
Given how close he grew to Robbie Lawler when “Ruthless” joined American Top Team, Poirier was understandably saddened when Lawler decided to leave ATT. Poirier insists that he and Lawler will continue to be close, and event train together.
“Yeah, you know? He’s a good buddy of mine and he’s still a good buddy of mine,” he continued.
“I just don’t see him every day as much. I had dinner with him last night and I’m still going to be training with him in the future whenever that opportunity comes up.”
Poirier’s recent win over Miller is his fifth out of his last six bouts but he was stopped in his previous outing. Losing in prizefighting is a lot more traumatic than losing in many other sports considering the physical consequences.
So, coming back from a rough loss the way Poirier did was quite important, mentally. “I have nobody to point the finger at [when I lose,] nobody to blame anything on,” he explained.
“I don’t have a team to say, ‘you lacked,’ or needed to be more dedicated or more disciplined. Right now, it’s just a part of the learning process. I have a lot more fights left in me and you haven’t seen the best Dustin Poirier at all.”
Poirier also went on to break down how he was surprised at Miller’s effective calf-kicks, which clearly hurt “Diamond” during their bout. After a little rest, however, Poirier says he’s ready to fight again.
The new father is in the process of moving his family back home to Louisiana and has an overflowing plate but if the right opportunity comes up in the near future, he’d be interested in seizing it to continue his march towards a title-shot.
“I have a lot of stuff going on in my personal life right now with the baby and I recently just purchased another home in Louisiana and I’m moving my wife back and I’ll be doing training camps in Florida,” he revealed.
“I have a lot of stuff going on so realistically, late June, July is what I’m shooting for [to fight again] but I haven’t sold my house yet in Florida and all my stuff is still there so so if something pops up, I’ll do it. My leg’s fine. I’m good to go.”
Stephen Thompson also appears on the podcast.
About the author:
Elias Cepeda has served as a writer and editor covering mixed martial arts and combat sports, as well as public and cultural affairs, since 2005. He began as a staff writer for InsideFighting, and not long thereafter became publisher and editor of the page. Cepeda then went to write for Yahoo! Sports’ boxing and MMA pages, and edited their Cagewriter blog. He was hired away by FOX Sports, but after several years departed over philosophical differences with the executive leadership around important issues of journalism ethics. A student of and sometime competitor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA since 1999, Elias brings a unique and vibrant presence to reporting, and enjoys trying to highlight shared humanity and connect common experiences from seemingly different worlds.
