UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier is currently gearing up for a fight against Anthony Pettis on November 11 at UFC Fight Night 120. The 28-year-old from Lafayette, Louisiana, was last seen waging a back-and-forth war with Eddie Alvarez in May, which unfortunately ended in a no-contest following an illegal Alvarez knee.
Ahead of his much-anticipated fight with Pettis in November, Poirier took the time to answer the questions of Fighters Only contributor Tony Reid.
Question: If you could choose one fight from your career that every MMA fan should see, which fight would you choose and why?
Dustin Poirier: My fight with Josh Grispi, which was my debut fight in the UFC. My first fight on the biggest stage in the sport. I was coming from the WEC and this guy was supposed to fight for the world title, on a five or six-fight win streak in Zuffa. I came in, nobody had heard of me and I just beat him up.
Q: If you could fight anyone in any weight class, who would you choose to pick a fight and why?
DP: If I could get a rematch with Conor McGregor, I would want that fight.
Q: Looking back at the first fight with Conor, what are your thoughts?
DP: I have to keep moving forward. I can’t change the past. He performed well. He did his job. I went in there and I didn’t stick to the game plan. I’m not really sure exactly. I don’t know if it was the anger and the emotion. It’s all about how you come back from a fight like that, a loss like that. I know who I am as a fighter and as a person. I am excited to jump back in there and show everybody who I am again.
Q: Who has the heaviest hands of anybody you have fought or trained with?
DP: Definitely Robbie Lawler.
Q: Who are the people that inspire you most, personally and professionally?
DP: I push myself. I am pretty self-motivated. This sport is a marathon, not a sprint. Everybody’s career is different. There are lots of ups and downs. There are a lot of great nights and a few bad nights, too. If there is anybody I can look at and say this guy stuck through it, he kept training and he believed in himself and is now at the mountain top as a world champion, that’s Robbie Lawler. He had ups and downs. He won fights, he lost fights and was forgotten about a little bit. He bounced around from one organization to another. Then he joined a great team and became a UFC world champion. It’s a Cinderella Story. It’s awesome. He has been doing it forever. He never stopped believing in himself. He never gave up. That says a lot.
Q: Who are your favorite fighters to watch and why?
DP: I like watching Nick Diaz, for sure. In my eyes he is a fighter’s fighter. I always want to tune in to see what he’s doing, whether it’s a fight or an interview. He is an all-around entertaining guy. Right now, skill wise, I really love watching T.J. Dillashaw. His movement, his kickboxing, his wrestling, the way he mixes it up is awesome.
Q: What was your first car? How much did you pay for it?
DP: The first car I ever had was a Geo Prizm. It was maybe $1,000 tops.
Q: What is your dream car?
DP: Nothing too crazy, man. I like to have a nice car and nice stuff like that but I’m not as crazy as some of these guys in the game. The other day I saw a four-door Bentley. That was freaking dope, man. I will go with that.
Q: What is your favorite genre of music?
DP: I would say I listen to hip-hop more than anything. I listen to all types of music, though.
Q: Who are you listening to right now?
DP: I like West Coast hip-hop. I like stunner rap. Right now I have been listening to a rapper out of New York named Joey Badass. I like his stuff.
Q: If you could walk out to one track the rest of your career, what would it be?
DP: That’s tough, man. I have been switching it up over the years. After three or four fights I switch it up. If I could only pick one it would have to be Johnny Cash, the man in black, and his song ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’.
Q: Is there a guilty pleasure song we would be surprised to hear you listen to?
DP: (Laughs) There isn’t one particular song but I do have a couple of Erykah Badu albums on my I-pod. I like listening to her stuff.
Q: What TV shows are you currently watching?
DP: I like Workaholics for sure. There isn’t a whole lot of stuff that I have to watch. I will record a few shows but I like to watch Tosh.0 and Workaholics more than any other shows.
Q: Do you watch any other sports on TV? Being from New Orleans I would imagine you are a Saints fan…
DP: Of course! If I watch any other sport it’s definitely the NFL and the New Orleans Saints. That is the biggest sport down here in Louisiana. I don’t watch basketball anymore. I never have really been a fan of baseball. I have been a Saints fan my whole life.
Q: What is your favorite genre of movies?
DP: I like thrillers and action. My wife likes a lot of horror movies, so I watch them, too. It’s been bad for horror movies lately.
Q: If there was a movie made of your life, who would you want to play you?
DP: I would say Jean-Claude Van Damme or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Q: How would you describe your own personal style?
DP: I like to dress nice when I go places, but other than that I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. I mean jeans, not skinny jeans. I keep it simple. I’m not into all that stuff, man.
