Dustin Poirier

Poirier has been married to Jolie LeBlanc since 2009, and they have two children. Their daughter was born in 2016, and they welcomed a son in 2025.

Poirier was raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, and is of Cajun heritage. He attended Northside High School briefly before leaving in the ninth grade after repeated trouble and street fights.

Poirier turned professional in 2009 and quickly built a 7-0 record while competing mainly in regional promotions in Louisiana and across the Southern United States. His early career was depicted in the documentary Fightville.

He made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut against Danny Castillo at WEC 50 in 2010 and later stopped Zach Micklewright at WEC 52. After the WEC merged with the UFC, Poirier defeated Josh Grispi by unanimous decision at UFC 125 in January 2011.

Poirier established himself as a UFC featherweight with victories over Jason Young, Pablo Garza, Max Holloway and Jonathan Brookins. His 2012 main event against Chan Sung Jung ended in a fourth-round submission loss, but the bout received Fight of the Night honors and was named Fight of the Year by several publications.

After a 2014 loss to Conor McGregor, Poirier moved permanently to lightweight because he felt cutting to featherweight distracted him from training. He then recorded notable knockout wins over Carlos Diego Ferreira, Yancy Medeiros and Bobby Green, followed by victories over Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Anthony Pettis.

At UFC 236 in 2019, Poirier defeated Max Holloway by unanimous decision to win the interim UFC Lightweight Championship. He later challenged Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title at UFC 242 but lost by rear-naked choke.

Poirier defeated Conor McGregor by technical knockout at UFC 257 in 2021, becoming the first fighter to defeat McGregor by knockout in an MMA bout. He won their third meeting at UFC 264 after a doctor stopped the fight because McGregor suffered a broken tibia.

Poirier then challenged Charles Oliveira for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 269 and lost by submission. He returned with a submission victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 281, then lost to Justin Gaethje in a 2023 rematch for the symbolic BMF title.

In 2024, Poirier knocked out Benoît Saint Denis at UFC 299 before challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship at UFC 302. Makhachev submitted him in the fifth round. Poirier's final fight came at UFC 318, where Max Holloway defeated him by unanimous decision in their trilogy bout for the BMF title.

Poirier holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Tim Credeur, but he became especially known for his boxing and striking. His style includes shifting punches, the shoulder roll and forearm and elbow blocks associated with his stonewall defense.

He trained at Gladiators Academy under Credeur before joining American Top Team in 2012. His professional record ended at 30 wins, 10 losses and one no contest, with 15 wins by knockout and eight by submission.

Poirier earned 10 UFC Fight of the Night bonuses, tying Edson Barboza for the second-most in UFC history. He also landed 1,861 career significant strikes, including 1,308 in the lightweight division, and recorded 11 modern UFC knockouts.

In 2018, Poirier and Jolie LeBlanc founded the Good Fight Foundation. Poirier has used fight-kit auctions and other charitable projects to support communities in Lafayette and elsewhere, including food banks, schoolchildren and families affected by hardship.

The foundation donated 1,000 meals to hospital employees in the Lafayette area during the COVID-19 pandemic. Poirier also worked with Justin Wren's Fight for the Forgotten to support access to clean drinking water for the Echuya Batwa people in Uganda.

The UFC gave Poirier the Forrest Griffin Community Award in 2020. Lafayette declared March 15, 2021, Dustin Poirier Day and awarded him a key to the city.

Poirier launched Poirier's Louisiana Style Hot Sauce in 2020, drawing on his Louisiana identity outside the cage. He announced Rare Stash Bourbon in 2022.

His business activities have been connected to the same public profile that he developed through UFC competition and the Good Fight Foundation.