Dustin Poirier’s Legendary Top 10 Moments

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We’re less than 24 hours away from Dustin Poirier’s last reluctant dance.

Later tonight (Sat., July 19, 2025) in UFC 318’s pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Poirier will square off with Max Holloway for the third time in his final Octagon appearance. “The Diamond” considered retirement after coming up short in his title bid last year, but he’s opted for a final fight in his home state of Louisiana, 15 years after he first made the walk into the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) blue mats.

Incredible knockouts,

grueling losses and vicious firefights — Poirier is one of the most entertaining elite talents of all time. There is not a bad scrap on his resume. Ahead of his UFC 318 swan song, let’s take a look back over his career and highlight some of his most legendary moments.

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10. Josh Grispi at UFC 125 on Jan. 1, 2011

Dustin Poirier wasn’t a highly regarded blue chip prospect when he joined the UFC roster. He was a young talent with great finishing ability, 8-1 as a professional with a 1-1 record in the WEC, having lost his debut to Danny Castillo. Grispi, conversely, was next-in-line for a shot at Featherweight champion Jose Aldo, 4-0 with four finishes to his credit in WEC.

An injury to “Scarface” saw Grispi accept Poirier on short-notice to stay active, which turned out to be a monumental mistake! Poirier was forced to work hard early to avoid the grappling, but his strength and kickboxing advantage were immediately clear. He pummeled the would be title challenger, really shredding his foe’s mid-section with front kicks and body shots. Honestly, his front kick has never been as dominant as in that match up, as he basically hit the “THIS IS SPARTA!” sequence on Duffy a half-dozen times in three rounds.

Poirier was just 22 years old.

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9. Joe Duffy at UFC 195 on Jan. 2, 2016

I tried to really focus on context for this list. Joe Duffy is not a “greater” name than Anthony Pettis, for example, but Poirier halted Duffy’s rise to contention, whereas Pettis was already far removed from his previous spot atop the Lightweight pile when Poirier beat him. “Irish Joe” was undefeated in the Octagon, looking very sharp, and still riding the high of that early career Conor McGregor submission win.

Then, Poirier beat his ass.

This bout marked a noticeable improvement in Poirier’s boxing and strategy. Duffy was still the sharper distance striker, but Poirier’s shifting combinations allowed him to close into the clinch or double leg along the fence. From either position, he really abused his opponent with short, clubbing shots.

When we call on a fighter to press and “make it ugly” versus a sharpshooter, this is a textbook example.

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8. Michael Chandler at UFC 281 on Nov. 12, 2022

Dustin Poirier managed to look pretty old here and still create an iconic moment.

Chandler spent most of the fight beating up “The Diamond.” He rocked him more than once in the first, nearly emptying his gas tank in the process. Poirier, ever the opportunist in a brawl, waited out the storm and paid Chandler back towards the end of the first with a counter hook.

That punch nearly ended the fight, but Chandler wrestled in round two to even up the score. A big slam takedown early in the third seemed to spell doom for the Louisiana-native, but he managed to slip out the back door, take Chandler’s back, and become the first man to submit “Iron” Mike!

Poirier growing more hittable and his takedown defense falling off were concerning, but Poirier once again proved he is not the man to engage in a war of attrition.

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7. Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 on March 9, 2024

Context is king here.

When these two fought, Poirier entered off a head kick KO loss. “BSD,” meanwhile, was 28 years old and undefeated at 155-pounds. Saint Denis was seen as the future of 155-pounds after his five-fight finish streak saw him join the rankings. People were already talking about Saint Denis vs. Islam!

Indeed, the French talent looked the part for much of his fight versus Poirier. He took him down often, advanced position, landed hard shots on the feet and ground alike. Perhaps Poirier’s greatest gift, however, is being an equally good hammer and nail. Like with Chandler above, he bided his time and allowed Saint Denis to fatigue.

When Saint Denis grew sloppy, Poirier dropped the mother of all right hooks on his chin to score a monumental knockout.

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6. Eddie Alvarez 2 at UFC on FOX 30 on July 28, 2018

Eddie Alvarez was fighting so well in the rematch. He was moving well at distance, landing good kicks alongside his combinations, and timing takedowns. The momentum and damage were thoroughly on his side when he made a critical mistake, landing an illegal elbow from mount that saw the duo stood up.

What unfolded next is a sequence familiar to Poirier fans, as he’s one of the all-time great fighters in terms of sealing the deal. When Poirier hurts an opponent, he swarms them with power punches from both hands and just doesn’t stop throwing combos until they’re left in a pile of blood and dust. Alvarez is famously tough and durable, but as soon as they were back on the feet, Poirier stung him and unleashed a flurry that simply obliterated him.

There is little room for error once “The Diamond” starts landing.

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5. Chan Sung Jung at UFC on Fuel TV 3 on May 15, 2012

Spoiler alert: this will be the only loss on the list. Fortunately, it was also the very best fight of 2012, an example of a great young talent meeting a genuine contender in his prime.

Jung was a step ahead of Poirier the whole fight wherever it went. He cracked Poirier hard on the counter and lead, and whenever Poirier turned to his wrestling, Jung would reverse and threaten with submissions. It was so entertaining because Poirier never stopped pushing forward, but he was largely outclassed here.

The silver lining is the defeat spurred great change. Poirier left his small regional camp and joined American Top Team. He grew significantly as an athlete and technician. All the spectacular wins that came afterward have to be credited, at least in part, to the lessons learned in this outstanding loss.

There’s absolutely no shame here.

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4. Justin Gaethje at UFC on FOX 29 on April 14, 2018

Poirier vs. Gaethje 1 was absolutely bonkers.

Gaethje was still fully in his brawl-wildly-and-chop-legs era. Poirier was a reformed brawler and showed off some of the lengthiest combinations of his entire career against Gaethje’s high guard. For three rounds, the duo went tit-for-tat in their attempts to knock one another senseless.

The whole while, Gaethje was willing to trade one inside low kick for one left hand upstairs. In round four, that trade finally cost him dearly. He landed his low kick, but Poirier stepped through it and put his power hand right on the jawline. Gaethje wobbled, and as we’ve already discussed, standing hurt in front of “The Diamond” is a terrible place to be.

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3. Dan Hooker at UFC Vegas 4 on June 27, 2020

Dustin Poirier has been in countless brawls. A lot of them are on this list, and he walked away victorious far more often than not. In terms of pure brutality and entertainment, this contest has my vote as the very best scrap in a career full of ‘em!

Part of the appeal here was the novelty of the Apex. Before the promotion used that venue to cheaply air crappy cards, it was a showcase of the sport’s raw violence. Watching Poirier and Hooker beat the life from one another felt almost biblical when you could hear each and every audible thud as barely padded bone collided into flesh at high velocity.

The fight would have been outstanding even on mute, of course. The two took turns taking lumps off one another, each nearly being knocked out multiple times. It was ultimately Poirier’s cardio and endurance that turned the tide, as he was able to capture the final three rounds when Hooker lost a bit of the snap on his punches.

It was still arduous, vicious fighting until the final bell.

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2. Max Holloway 2 at UFC 236 on April 13, 2019

Given his own wealth of accomplishments, Max Holloway is a great win at any point in his career. He’s never been anything less than a good fighter, even when Poirier submitted a very young version of the “Blessed” fighter during the Hawaiian’s short-notice UFC debut. That’s still a legit win!

Holloway in 2019 was something special though, arguably at the height of his powers. He was riding a 13-fight win streak that included four UFC title victories when he jumped up to Lightweight to challenge for interim gold, meeting his old rival Poirier for the second time.

An equally special aspect of this win is that it was fairly one-sided. This was not an endlessly grueling war of attrition that could have shifted either way at any point like so many of Poirier’s signature victories. Holloway took one round, but Poirier was too big and too sharp. He hurt Holloway repeatedly, and were it not for that legendary chin, probably would have smoked him in the first round outright.

It’s likely the best win of Poirier’s career, the most skilled opponent at the top of his game. On that night, Poirier earned his Lightweight belt, interim asterisk be damned.

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1. Conor McGregor 2 at UFC 257 on Jan. 24, 2021

I know everyone is suffering from Conor McGregor fatigue after all these years of posting and no fights, but that wasn’t the case in 2021. Back then, McGregor had still only lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the all-time great Lightweight who couldn’t be stopped, and Nathan Diaz, a defeat he avenged in the most high-profile rivalry in UFC history.

Put simply, McGregor was still very much that guy when Poirier took him apart.

“The Diamond” demonstrated the benefits of being an active fighter here, earning his revenge by implement the calf kick. McGregor was off on the sidelines boxing Floyd and being a billionaire when that weapon gained popularity, but he learned at UFC 257. Poirier’s calf kick ruined McGregor’s boxing flow, forcing him to get overly aggressive with his combinations.

Poirier’s counter right hook found the mark and put McGregor on the defensive. A moment later, that classic Poirier swarm claimed its most famous victim, skyrocketing Poirier’s popularity to new heights.

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There are plenty of great moments in Poirier’s career that went unmentioned, like his various Lightweight title bids or early run of d’arce choke finishes. He has one final chance to add to that legacy tonight, but looking back at the career of “The Diamond,” what stands out most to you?

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