THE ED MYLETT SHOW - The Diamond's Journey To #1 w/ Dustin Poirier

Episode Date: July 27, 2021

Did you see “THE FIGHT” a few weeks ago? For all my podcast followers, I’ve got a SPECIAL INTERVIEW for you this week! In his first big interview since beating CONOR MCGREGOR, I caught up with DUSTIN POIRIER for a revealing talk about the controversial fight and a whole lot more. First, you will LEARN a ton about MENTAL Preparation, PERFORMANCE TRIGGERS, HOW to EXECUTE under PRESSURE etc etc On July 10, Dustin THE DIAMOND Poirier (28-6) and THE NOTORIOUS Conor McGregor (22-6) went toe-to-toe and elbow-to-elbow for the third time in their MMA careers. It was one of the most highly anticipated trilogy rematches ever after each man knocked out the other in their previous bouts. The fight racked up more than 1.8 MILLION PAY-PER-VIEWS worldwide, making it one of the most-watched MMA events ever. It was stopped on a TKO after McGregor suffered a nasty broken leg at the end of the first round, leaving open the possibility of another mega rematch. That’s a fight every MMA fan wants to see, INCLUDING ME! Like they have different styles in the ring, Poirier and McGregor have completely different styles outside the ring. Dustin is not brash and outspoken. Instead, he QUIETLY AND CONFIDENTLY takes care of business. Widely known for his CLASS and HUMILITY, Dustin is also a dedicated HUSBAND, FATHER, and PHILANTHROPIST who the UFC recognized in 2020 for his charity work. Dustin is TOUGH …PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY. And, as the #1 ranked lightweight in the UFC, THE DIAMOND SHINES BRIGHTER than anyone else in the MMA universe right now. As a HUGE FAN OF DUSTIN AND MMA, I was excited to get to know him better during this latest podcast episode. Even if you're not into mixed martial arts, you’ll find this interview FASCINATING. Although we dig into the McGregor fight, we also go deep on several other topics, including MENTAL TOUGHNESS, SELF-AWARENESS, and EMBRACING a heightened state of EMOTIONS every time Dustin prepares to fight. We also get into the need for continued PERSONAL GROWTH and what it means to be a ROLE MODEL as a highly visible public figure. And, in one of the most HONEST answers ever, Dustin reveals what he likes best and hates most about the current MMA fight game. LISTEN CLOSELY, and you can take what Dustin has to say about all of these things and use it to your advantage in your own daily battles.   👉 SUBSCRIBE TO ED'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW 👈  → → → CONNECT WITH ED MYLETT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ← ← ← ▶︎ INSTAGRAM ▶︎ FACEBOOK  ▶︎ LINKEDIN ▶︎ TWITTER ▶︎ WEBSITE  

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whatever the heck you want. Go to bambi.com slash my let last time B-A-M-B-E-E. Dot com slash my let's get back to the show. All right, welcome back to the show everybody. Bonshell conversation today. The gentleman that I've invited to be with me today just took his second of three fights in a pretty dominant fashion with Conor McGregor. He's a number one contender in the lightweight division in the USC, and he also handles himself

with a tremendous amount of class and dignity. And that's the reason I really wanted him on. So Dustin Porier, welcome to the program, brother. It's great to have you here today. Thank you for having me, man. I appreciate the invite. How are you feeling? I feel good.

I just got back to Louisiana on Sunday after the fight. So it's been a little bit over a week here. But I've been gone for 10 weeks in training camp and then a week in Vegas. So I'm just getting my feet back under me here in Louisiana, trying to feel like myself again. It's such a rush doing that. Well, you ended up having, this is one of the most watched

paper views in the history of the sport that you just participated in. It wasn't a normal fight, man. Let's just be honest. I mean, it was your third one with him. A lot of build up to it. And let's just get into some of the stuff. First, what I want to do today for my audience

is, and if you're new to my show today, subscribe. But what we're going to do today is we're going to talk a little bit about what's happened recently with Dustin, especially the fights with Connor McGregor. But we're also going to talk about his mindset. What's built this man? This is a guy who didn't finish high school that has now turned his life around into this amazing experience that he's having right now. And he's in the prime of his life, the prime of his career. How do you get here? How do you do it? But I think we can start where we just finished, which is with Connor.

So first thing I wanna ask you, not even about the fight, the post fight. There were some things said by him that were, you know, so outrageous that I thought he was gonna come out the next day and go, look, I was in shock at this broken leg, you know, I apologize, but that's not really what happened. So how did you come,

did you hear what he was saying about your wife about the DM thing, all that stuff? Could you hear him? And did you just choose not to respond as you were walking out? Yeah, I can hear, I mean, we're right there right by each other after the fight. If that you're talking about right after. Yes. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I heard everything he was saying, but I had security around me. I couldn't, even if I tried to get to him, I wouldn't have been able to, but that would have been a bad decision, obviously, on my part. But in the heat of the moment, things happened.

But yeah, I can hear everything he said. 10 years ago, do you think you responded differently? I think I would have found a way to him 10 years ago. Really? You know, yeah. And I think, you know, he didn't just say stuff like that. Post-fight, he was saying stuff like that all week. I press conferences at the weigh-ins.

He was saying a lot of things, you know. But in my business, what I've realized is all that stuff is noise. The only truth is when that bell rings for 25 minutes, we have real life. Yeah, the moment. And that's all that matters. Everything else is noise. You know, it's interesting. That's true and everything. In most people succumb to the noise, you know, in business even,

right, there's all this noise. There's this distraction. There's these things that can pull us one way or the other. There's haters. There's all these things. Most people succumb to it. They listen to the noise. It takes, if it takes one percent of your energy, one percent of your focus, it's hurt you, especially at the level that you're fighting at, right? Especially at the elite level in business or sports. You can't afford that. Right, and I've been a victim to it before, but I think that's what has helped me moving forward and in these past fights. I've definitely been a victim to overthinking. So that's happened and this is interesting. So everybody who doesn't know this is a three-fight trilogy.

Dustin lost to corner. This was the rubber match. This was the rubber match. Dustin lost to corner the first time. And then there's this huge gap, six, seven-year gap between the second fight. And then the second fight, you handled that pretty easily, put him on his tail. The next fight was looking the same way. There were two of the three judges had the rounds 10, 8, the first round, even though Connor's been saying it was closer. I mean, that's, you know, debatable, but, you know, if you watch the fight, Dustin was handling his business before Connor's leg breaks.

But the first fight, you say he did get in your head. The noise did get to you. So talk about that. What did he do the first time that got in your head and what did you do the second time to not let him? The first time I just think I was younger in my career. You know, I read a lot of media, things they would put out, whenever the headlines were, I would click and read.

I would read what he was saying, what his coach was saying, all the critics, you know, with where we're at, with social media in our life and in the world, everybody's opinion is on full display if you look for it. And back then I was looking and reading. And I think those seeds of doubt got planted early. Not in the way that the things he said,

I thought were true, but it just made me so angry that when I went out there, I was a little bit blinded by anger. I wasn't fighting to my full potential. I was just caught up in the wrong place. When you're fighting at the highest level, one mistake is all it takes. And whenever you're angry and you're moving on emotion,

bad things happen in there a lot of times. And I think that's what it was earlier. And then as I just progressed in my career with the second and third fight with Connor, a lot of times. And I think that's what it was earlier. And then as I just progressed in my career with the second and third fight with Connor, a lot of the talk, I didn't even enter my being, you know, it was just noise, like I said. I didn't even think twice about the things he was saying. And the third fight, did you sense some of that talk

was fear or weakness on his part? In other words, over you just drowning it out altogether, you're like, this guy's saying some things that make me think I got in bitch. Also in the first fight, there was an aura. Like, this was new to me. This was a huge fight. Nobody's ever spoke to me the way he was spoke.

Nobody's, I thought, had carried himself that way. He had an aura about him and, you know, not that he's not special, but I thought this, I'm fighting somebody who's super special. And then as you mature through fighting, you realize all these guys bleed. It's just another human being. And that's what I saw in this third fight at the press conference. I saw the aura wasn't there. I saw a man, I saw a man scrambling scrambling for footing. That's what I saw.

There wasn't a lot of time, frankly, between the second and third fight for either of you to make huge adjustments. We're there. Like the second fight, you handled business. I think even Connor would say, second fight, I mean, you own to that fight. So what would he be relying on? Or you to think the third fight was going to be that much different because there wasn't that much time in between the fights. There wasn't, you know, it might have been, what was it? Five, six months between fights and, you know, being knocked

out, you need to let your brain heal as well. Not only the technical aspect that you need to get better at, you need to let your body heal and your brain heal. I think maybe he really, him and his team really believed that leg kicks was the main cause of him letting his guard down and getting hit with big shots and ultimately getting knocked out. They thought maybe if they prevented the leg kicks and stopped the leg kicks, that it would be shots and ultimately getting knocked out, they thought maybe if they prevented the leg kicks and stopped the leg kicks,

that it would be a different outcome. I think that's what they were holding onto. Well, you, that aura that isn't there for you anymore, is it not just that he's a man, I'm asking it directly, do you feel like he's regressed as a fighter and that's made it easier for you? Is it a combination that he's regressed and you're better

or are you just that much better and he's the same guy? It's tough to say. And in this sport, it's such a new sport and it's always evolving. So I wouldn't say he regressed, but if you're not evolving, well, maybe I will say he regressed.

If you're not keeping up with the wave of all the new information, all the new techniques, all the new things that are working nowadays, you are in a way regressing if you stay the same. Wow. Not only in fighting in life, that's like, you know, what I try to do every day is be better than yesterday, whether it's in combat sports or it's in business or as a father or a husband. I'm just trying to take those mistakes and get better every day.

Like if somebody's hitting me with the jab, I know I need to learn how to slip a jab, right? If in life I'm making mistakes, I need to learn how to slip those mistakes, how to learn from those mistakes. So I'll just put it all together, you know, encompass it all and just try to grow as a person, and that's what combat sports is to me. Yeah, that takes a huge level though,

Dustin of what I call self-awareness, that oftentimes when you're having success, this is important for everybody and everything to realize, especially in your case now. The world loves you right now, right? You're amazing, you're incredible. You know, McGregor two out of three times, you're probably going to fight all the way for the title, right? So, you know, when you're doing well, these are the times in life that you do need to be

self-aware and making changes and growing. Most people are willing to make changes. Listen, you get knocked out in a fight. You get knocked out in business. You reflect, you're self-aware. What do I got to do better? How do I improve? It's harder to do when you're winning. And that's what I respected and admire about you.

The more accolades, the more success, the more money, the more notoriety, you're still trying to find those inches to improve to stay relevant. Isn't that true? If I don't, I'm dying in a way. If I don't keep getting better, whatever it is. You're conscious of that, too. So let me ask you about one more thing I'm a Gregor,

and then I want to talk more about you and your life and your career. But I think it was Kabib said, hey, these guys fight 100 times. Dustin's going to win 100 times. I doubt that that's necessarily true because this is combat sports at the highest level, but do you want to do this again with him? And do you think the public wants to see it again? At some point. You know, he has such a big fan base who believes that if his leg wouldn't have broke, maybe he could have came back and and maybe he could have landed a shot that stopped the fight or whatever.

And then that could happen in anything. Maybe if I'd bought a lottery ticket yesterday I would have won the lottery. Anything's possible, right? Anything's possible. I definitely think of interest is there for a fourth fight, but he has a long road to recovery ahead, no telling what's gonna happen with me moving forward,

what fights I'm gonna get, and a lot of things happen before that fourth fight is even a reality, but it's possible that that could come about. I think the fans would still want to watch it. I'm sort of struck. You're being kind to him. I'm sort of struck that this is pretty recent, some of the things that he said. And it impresses me, your composure, your poise. You showed it that night, you showed it afterwards,

you really haven't done an interview since then until now. But I'm struck by the fact that you still seem to be maintaining your composure. I did see you with the little Connor, sleepy Connor chain. I did see that on social media. Do you still have that thing, by the way? Yeah, I didn't see that on social media. Do you still have that thing, by the way? Yeah, I have it over here on the counter. And you're having fun with that. But I'm going to auction it off. You're going to auction off and give the money away to charity, correct?

Yeah. Yeah. Do you hold ill will towards him? In other words, is there a party that I'd like to get him again? Or it just doesn't matter to you. It's a fight. Somewhere along the line things changed. You know, of course the man in me wants to get him back and making pay for a lot of things he said, but at the same time, it's not about how many times can I beat this guy, I hurt this guy, I embarrassed this guy. It's about what steps are next for me and my family to prosper for my career to advance.

And whenever that is, then I'm gonna try my best to go that route. I'm going to try my best to go that route. You know, I'm trying to align my actions and my goals and whatever I got to do to get there, that's what I'm going to do. Man to man, you definitely crossed the line. I understand this entertainment and a sport, but some of the things you said you don't say, but at the end of the day, man, like I said in the press conference, I don't hate anybody. I just know what's real and what matters. I'm in a good spot. And the same thing with the lead up. And back then when I was a young man, I didn't know. Like I said, I read too much.

Nowadays, when he's talking and saying stuff, you can't tell me who I am or who my family is, because I know who I am. And I know who my family is. So, you know, I wish him a good recovery, and we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. So let's talk about you a little bit. I wanna ask you a question. This is gonna seem way out in left field. So, and I hope you'll answer me honestly.

I'm gonna ask the question first. I'm gonna tell you why I'm asking you. No one's asked you this. I wanna know if you still love fighting. And before you answer me, I'm gonna tell you why I ask you. I watched you after the second fight when you won, okay? I mean, like right after you won. I'm talking before you got interviewed. I'm talking about in the cage still. And I watched you really closely. And I, this is just a sense, I watched you. I thought, I wonder if in that moment, you, at least for a second thought, I've accomplished what I want to right now. And just for that moment, you at least for a second thought, I've accomplished what I want to right now.

And just for that moment, was there any part of you? I'm curious about this that went, this is it. And I know then the interview starts then, wow, this is McGregor, there's money, there's more fights, there's my career, I can get the belt. Do you still love it? And has there been any point recently, the last year or two where you've thought about the end of it, even though you're such a young man, you're at the top of the sport, but it's just a sense I had in watching you that I was curious about.

So the business of fighting, I don't like. The only thing I love about combat sports is that 25 minutes. That's the only thing I love about this anymore. Of course, let me take that back. I love the camaraderie at the gym. I love being around my friends working on different things, showing up every day, pushing each other. I enjoy that. But the entertainment side, being in the spotlight side, that's not never a reason I lay stuff up. A pair of gloves from the from the beginning. And at the point I'm at in fighting, there is no just fighting. Every fight is so huge. There's so much media

you're in the spotlight. So many critics, so many voices and so much noise surrounding these fights. It's turning me off, you know, I don't like that. The only thing I like is the fight because that's the only thing that's real and true about this to me anymore. You know, the media can twist and put whatever they want out in the sheep, run and believe it. The company itself can build somebody up. Of course, that person has to win fights, but they can build somebody up and everybody believes everything that they say. But the truth is when that bell rings and that's the only thing I love about this, I'm still in love

with the fight. That's it. What about the preparation? Do you still love the preparation? I love to push myself. Yeah, I do. I enjoy that. I love to push myself mentally, physically, get to the best conditioning I can be in, get to the strongest mindset. There's something like right now I'm going

through the decompression stage. I was just talking to Teddy Atlas and we kind of put it into words. I never heard anybody say this before, but whenever you go out there to fight, it's like going, it's like being a deep sea diver. You're going into the darkness, into the trenches. We don't know what's going to happen, but we're going to go. And that's the definition of bravery is going into the unknown. We go to the unknown and I'm really to go deep as we have to go. But after all that happens,

we have to come back to the surface and you have to decompress. You can't just come right back. So that's what I'm going through right now. I'm decompressing. I'm getting my body back used to this every day lifestyle. So, you know, there are a few things I do enjoy about it, but besides the fight, I don't love anything like the fight, man. I appreciate you being being honest because I had read that on you. And the other question like, for years, you know, I can't fight forever. I've been fighting a long time. I have 46 fights. I've been in the UFC for over 10 years, fought the best of the best. And I still feel good. Like I said before, there's tread on these tires. Yeah. It's just strategically hitting that gas pedal now. And the goal is to come out with my faculties,

come out healthy, come out in a good spot for my family. So we'll see, but we'll see what happens. I've always been so focused on plan A, that I didn't even look at plan B, because I couldn't. I couldn't take my eyes off the road. So we'll see what happens, man, but I still feel good. And I know I have a lot of me to give. One of my favorite answers ever on the show,

one of the most honest answers ever. Most guys mid career at your stage aren't willing to kind of admit that. And so I really appreciate I read it on you. And I'm super impressed with you. Super impressed. You do have a career post fighting in whatever the heck it is you want to do

just because of your self-awareness and your growth. You're at this arc in your life. And I just want everybody to acknowledge this about you. Growth has a capacity to. So sometimes people leave in a sport. They blossom later in their career because their growth capacity expands as they work, right? Personal growth is that way too that, you know, when you begin to grow as a human being, your capacity to grow more continues. And I look at you, I'm reading about you, man, and I know a lot of people, you know, like we've talked before we went on air here, is like, we know with a bunch of mutual friends. And what you've turned your life into, I just want people that have children or that are

in a bad spot right now, just to realize what's possible. You didn't finish high school because you're getting in so much trouble fighting and getting in trouble, correct? Yeah, I never finished a ninth grade. That seems to be nice. It's incredible. And then you turn this into, you're not only a person, brother, because of the platform you're on, the people of Myers of Fighter, but you really are starting to show young men how a young man ought to hold himself, in my opinion. How he ought to be a husband, how he ought to be a leader, how he deals with adversity. What the heck happened in the last 20 years that has made you into this man that you've become, because you certainly weren't on that track when you don't finish the ninth grade. What took place? I wish I could answer that. One more, one more for me and my family,

and always keeping that mindset to learn, to not make the same mistake twice. You know, I try my best to learn. I'm not perfect, but I really mean well, and I'm flawed as we all are. I'm flawed, but a diamond I am. I'm flawed, but a diamond I am. And I just do my best, man, to learn, to take lessons, to, I listen. I listen to people, and I listen to myself,

and try to learn. You have something all people who are in the prime of their life have, brother, that I just want. See, I think that when you're in the midst of being great at something, you don't appreciate it. You can't acknowledge it in yourself. You don't see the growth in you that other people see, but what you do every once in a while,

like you get is a glimpse like, wow, look what just happened. So you get these little glimpses. You're like, there's these surreal moments when you're achieving in life. You've had them. You probably have them in the fights with the Connor where you're like, you're just a moment it floods you go, whoa, this just happened, even though you've been preparing for it. But what you have that I think most happy people have, productive people have, is they tow this line, very fine line between confidence and humility. And we've all seen people air on the side of getting too over

confident with not enough humility, haven't we? And we see what happens to them. There's great examples you've been potentially in there with recently. And then there's that other line that we have to watch where we have tons of humility but not enough self-confidence. And I think you've been that guy before too. So to me, you toe that line. Does that make sense when I say that that there's this learner, this student, this stud,

this champion, this kind of a warrior but has also has the humility to want to grow and get better and says, hey, I'm flawed. True. 100% true. And I try to preach that to these young fighters. Like confidence is great. And it's a key.

And you need it to fight another man at the highest level. You have to have it, but you also have to understand that you're not more human than human. You, you, you can be hurt. You know, I know going into these fights, no matter how good I've prepared, no matter how focused I am, one shot can turn the lights off. One mistake I can get in a submission

that I can't get out of. I understand those things. There's always, you know, I'm not invincible. You find that out quick in fighting because if you're not humble, you might get on a run. You might get on a stretch, but you will be humbled at some point.

I think you find that out in life, I have, you know, no matter whatever run I'm on, God has a way of eventually going, hey, you're a human. Let me remind you of who's running the show here. Every time my ego's got the better of me, somehow life and God's head away have just reminded me of my flaws and my weaknesses.

And so I didn't realize those things into my forties. The fact that you're realizing those things in your early thirties is very impressive to me. And the fact that you share it is why I do this show is because I get in the minds and the hearts of people achieving at the highest levels, no matter what it is. I've had people on here from every walk of life, from faith, to sports, to business, to personal development,

to wellness, and I want to get in their mind and their prime. And a lot of the things you've learned, I think fighting in general is there's a point where you do have a team. I love how much you acknowledge your team and brown and these other people. You're made a post today on social media about your team, right? You acknowledge them. But the thing about fighting that always has been special to me is that then there's a point where they close that cage and it's you and that other man. It's you and that other man and all your preparation, all your team support, all the mental work, all the visualization, all the reps, it's you and that man. And that's special. I think that causes a human being to grow. I'm curious in that moment when you're

in that moment and you're about to face that other man, right? Because we face that in life in business, we face that moment and walk into the boardroom if I don't get this deal. There's a sales guy out there right now. He's driving in his car, brother. He's driving to an appointment, he's getting fired up, listening to the great, you know, Dustin, Pory, and he's talking to my let and he's like, if I don't close the sale, my kids don't eat this week, right?

That's that man he's facing, right? And I'm curious. Guys got chills saying that. And I'm curious for you when you're about to face that man he's facing, right? And I'm curious, guys, got chills saying that. And I'm curious for you when you're about to face that man, what are you feeling? Are you just focused? Is there fear? Is there a combination of emotions?

What is a dude feeling when Buffer, you know, starts screaming your name and pointing at you and you're there all the way back to those days where on you the junior circuits and no one was screaming your name? What's that feeling like when you're man to man in there? There's definitely a roller coaster of emotions, fight night, even fight week,

but fight night in the locker room and everything. Those are different emotions than what you're talking about right now. Whenever I walk out into those lights and my feet touch that canvas and I feel that that canvas underneath my feet, the thinking's done. I'm just, I'm just in the moment in a flow state almost. It's just a, it's, it's like nothing else matters but this moment. And it's something special.

It's a high. It's a, it's like a drug that I can only get from stepping in there with the world watching with everything on the line with the man about to try to hurt me. It makes me feel the most alive that I've ever felt in that moment and nothing else matters. Nothing else matters but that moment and I really enjoy that about it. But before the fight in the locker room,

that's where doubt can creep in. That's where the nerves are really there for me. And I'm sure for every fighter, for anybody attempting to do something great. But over the years I've learned that those feelings never go away. I have 46 fights and every time I'm in the locker room, I'm scared to death, nervous.

They don't go away, but you do get acquainted with them. You do get acquainted with those feelings. And so now when they come in, when they start creeping in, I just, I know that means we're about to try to do something great. If you're attempting to do something great and don't feel that, you need to do something bigger. You need to do something better, greater.

Because you should be in that place. That's your body preparing itself to do something at the highest level. That's just human nature. Those are chemicals that pump in your brain, getting you ready to face those fears, to go into the depth and I love that about it, man. You can't get that from anything else. Oh, wow. Everybody go rewind about a minute and a half and go listen to that again. That's so good, man. Like a couple of things, I always want to unpack that you said, want all those

emotions that you become familiar with, such a huge thing. The other thing that you said, they don't go away, but you get acquainted. They don't go away with you get acquainted. Wow. I love that. And the other thing you said, they don't go away, what you did, they don't go away, what you did to coin it. Wow. I love that. And the other thing you said, and I was wondering when I unpacked this, because there's a little clue in there that I teach that, you know, and I know you know this too.

He went earlier, he said, well, my feet hit that canvas, boom, I go into flow state. What that is, is that's called a trigger, everybody. So when you're feeling all those emotions backstage, that he's become a little bit familiar with it, don't go away. Trigger for Dustin, you know, that maybe it's become a little bit familiar with it, don't go away. Trigger for Dustin, you know that maybe it's unconscious

as he's feed hits that campus, he triggers his own. He triggers his habit mode, he triggers execution mode, thinking goes away. So if you are driving to that board meeting, or you are going into anything that's important to you, those emotions that you have, or you're never gonna go away, you become familiar with them,

but you should have a trigger, whether it's when you open up your folder, you open up your laptop, you're about to speak, you have a grab your shirt, you touch your ear, it's a trigger that puts you into that state where everything goes away and you execute. So that's just, I just want to make sure we unpack the brilliance that was just noted there. So do you have, you do that?

Oh, yeah. In my mind, it's more of a, in our everyday life, we try to control everything, right? And that kind of flusters us, because we can't control everything. But I think the trigger for me when I fight is when my feet do touch I can't miss and I smell the leather and the, it's just a certain smell that this thing has, the metal of the octagon, the, the blood that's been on the canvas that smell rust in the air. Like there's, there's a, for sure, trigger, but an acceptance.

I, I, like, I've done everything I can to put myself in this position. This bell's about to ring, and I accept what's about to happen. I'm prepared, and I'm just gonna, we're gonna find out. It's the moment, and I accept what's gonna happen. And I, you know, that, I think that's it.

And my whole career wasn't like that. It's been over the last few years that, that I really felt more comfortable in that moment. Why? Did you like post-fight start reflecting? Did someone point something out to you? Is it just experience over time? Like why did change?

I think experience over time. And also the fact that I can't control everything. Like I said, accepting. It might make some people, like turn some people away, but it's almost like I don't, uh, I care less. I used to care too much. Yep. And now when I get in there, my feet hit the canvas, I accept what's going to happen.

Hopefully, I went, hopefully I performed my best. That's the goal here, but in that moment, I don't care. I can't force anything. I just got it go. I think it's one of the most insightful and brilliant things that any athletes ever said on my show. And the reason for that, brother, and by the way, I cannot get over how you can articulate these things because it's when you're training and preparing for something, wanting it,

winning, having an outcome, desiring to be number one, all those things are part of the juice that gets you to prepare. But then there's gotta be a point where you separate from outcome and you execute. Because those are two different spaces. The outcome's in the future. So if you're still obsessed with that when you're feet hit the canvas, you're not executing in the moment.

What you're saying is, I want it, I want it, I want it, but when I get there, I don't. I separate and execute in the present moment. That'll take care of itself one way or the other and you can't control it. Any emotion wasted on that future is energy you're not dispensing in the moment of execution, right? Yeah, tomorrow's not promise, but we do have right now

under those lights, and that's what I love about it. If faith, just curious, I'm listening to you, you talk about being a husband and a father, does faith play any role in your life or or not? Yeah, I'm a Christian. You are. Is that recent? I just had a curiosity. It was like the last 10 years or did you grow up with it? I grew up with it. You did. Okay. I appreciate you saying that because I look at you and I wonder, I'm just curious, this is too personal to answer it. Do you say a prayer before a fight that you're going to be safe or protected or that you would execute at your best?

Is there any part of that that's part of your pre-fight work? Yeah, I pray every night. I pray in the locker room before the fight. And it's kind of come like a habit or every time before I walk into it, I pray real quick that me and my opponent come out safe, get back to our family safe. That's a simple thing that I say, you know, protect us both. Because I know what I'm going to try to do to him and I expect him to do the same to me. And at the end of the day, this is,

you know, it's a sport, but this is, this is war. And I know things happen, but I do say a quick prayer right before I walk in. But yeah, I pray every night. Your wife was at the fight. She come to all of the fights and And is that comforting to you? Or can that be more pressure sometimes to know that family sitting there watching you take shots like that? No, it's comforting to me because she's been to pretty much all of my fights. She drove me to Arkansas to my first fight back in 2008 or 2009.

No, 2006 or 2007. She I didn't even have a car. She drove me to to my first fight so she's been there through all the fights Oh, man, I love hearing that so what is next you want to fight all of aero? Like what is what do you think is next for you? Right, I mean that's that's next for sure. I'm a number one contender I turned on a title fight offer to fight Connor again So I'm still in the same spot. I know Dana saying that the title fight is next. But I'm still decomp- I'm still in that decompression. And I don't really want to plan too far ahead. I just want to be with my family. And as the weeks, you know, start to happen and we start discussing things we'll figure out what's next. But I believe that's what it's looking like.

That's who it will be then. It will be- will be him next. But you're, what is a good gap between fights at this level? Is it six months? Is it eight months a year? What is real? Because you also don't want any rust if you go too long as well, right? So what's about right? Because you didn't take much of a beating in this fight with Connor. So, I don't think so.

So is there a six month gap that's about appropriate? Just to pay, everybody's different, you know, because it could be physical rehab you need to do. For this fight, yeah, I took no damage, I'm fine. I just worked out this morning. But mental, too, you don't want to burn yourself out. You don't want to burn yourself out. And I've been doing it a long time.

And I like to pull back a little bit, have fun, work on things. Because when I'm in training camp, I'm focusing on that actual fight. Of course, I'm getting better, but in these down times, like right now, then I can have fun and learn new things and really explore martial arts a little bit.

I have friends here in Louisiana who have fights coming up all the time. So I try to help them get ready and just, everybody's different. But for me, depending on the damage and the fight, obviously, yeah, I would say four to six months is good for me. Well, you're doing other stuff too. You're an entrepreneur.

What's this hot sauce deal you're doing? Yeah, four years Louisiana style hot sauce. We launched that in December of last year. We're about to launch a hotter version of the sauce, the KO edition. I like to cook and it just seemed like something that during the quarantine, the initial quarantine, where we were all stuck in our homes. That's when this idea really took off. I was stuck in the house and eating some hot sauce.

And I was like, man, I would love to have my own hot sauce. I love to cook. And that's kind of the downtime in quarantine, the hot sauce is the result of that. I'm surprised. I thought you're going to tell me because you know, stuff's brought to you guys all the time. Hey, man, you know, I do the hot sauce is the result of that. I'm surprised. I thought you were going to tell me because stuff's brought to you guys all the time. Hey, man, you know, I do this hot sauce deal. That wasn't the deal. It was actually your idea. Oh, yeah, yeah. It was my idea.

The ingredients that I wanted. No way. I teamed up with them. Yeah. Oh, yeah. For sure. This isn't like a white label sauce where I just slapped my name on it. We reached out to a few companies, found out more about the companies and decided to go with a great company out of Canada called Hardbeat Hot Sources.

You know, it does an incredible job, small batch, very attention to detail. I actually had a couple of their sauces in the cabinet. And yeah, this was thought out and planned. This wasn't like a slap your name on a type of thing. I love it. And speaking of that, do you have a pre-fight meal? It's different every time.

It's simple stuff though. I kind of like to go into the fight hungry. So I'll eat like a normal breakfast, you know, and light lunch. And I like to feel empty. I don't eat again till after the fight. I like to feel a little bit empty and light. I don't want to feel full of food and flat-footed. I like to be a little hungry.

And you used to have real trouble cutting weight. That's why you went up and weight. How is cutting weight for you now? How much more weight do you walk around at than you actually end up in the octagon on fight night? I would say I walk around lighter than I used to when I was cutting down to 145. I think I was messing my metabolism up.

Like cutting such a strainer on my body. So you're not dehydrating it you're ready for a fighter and anything like that. Oh, I definitely am. I'm cutting weight. Okay. I'm yeah. But I probably 20-ish pounds, I walk around everyday life. Okay. Sometimes a little bit more like around the holidays. I'll get a little bit heavier. But it's usually like low 20s, 22 pounds or so. And I just want to know more about you, Mick, some super fascinated with you. Is that Jack Johnson in the picture behind you?

Yeah. Yeah, see, I know my stuff. So I'm curious, have you always been a fight fan? I think I always think, yeah. What's the purpose of having him behind you and are you've always been a fight fan? I've always been a fight fan and I love history of Combat sports and just the things he accomplished. I just think of something special

You know fighting is hard to do in itself To become a world champion to become a world champion with with everyone cheering for you is a tough thing to accomplish But think about back in those days being a black man, a world champion. Yeah, that's incredible, man, you know. Against all odds, that's what fighting is. Yeah, any research on Jack Johnson, you also, I'm relatively sure,

I know enough about his history, he's also married to a white woman, and there's just the timing for Jack Johnson to be a dominant champion. He went through a ton to be the world champion. I love that you love heroes and that you love history. And that's why I want to see you continue. I think the underdog, you know, the underdog.

Yeah. Well, you are. And it's weird because I don't know that you, you know, I think the second corner fight, even still people thought you were probably the underdog in that fight. But now that's kind of changing. I think probably when you fight all the very you might be again in some people's minds Potentially, but you know, there's a different preparing for a fight when you've won a bunch too I think it's just gonna be interesting to watch your career. I'm curious about Styles. I just want to ask you a couple things about styles. I know you're decompressing, but

One of the things that you you know, is I, I will, Connor has it really wide stance. And I've always wondered if someone like yourself would, he would be more susceptible to leg kicks with that super wide stance. Also, the South Paul thing you have going stylistically is that some type of an advantage for you with him. So, A, is there any truth to that? And B, if you do end up with Olivera stylistically, are there things match up wise, you don't have to say what they are, obviously tip your hand, but do you

feel like you have some advantages there that my people wouldn't be aware of? I do mean my coaches haven't started breaking out tape yet on Olivera and looking for tendencies and openings. But I'm sure we're going to, I'm, I'm confident we'll find them with the Connor fight. Yeah, if you're standing

really wide like that, you can do in and out movement very quickly, very fast and be a counter puncher, which he's great at, that helps him with that. But having that leg so far out there that calf kick, which is kind of, you know, new to mixed martial arts, it's just getting popular in the last couple of years. It kind of exposes your lower leg to be an attack. But yeah, I think he stands

that way for more of his counter-punching in and out movement. Yeah, no question. I'm so excited to see you in this next fight. I think it's going to be awesome whenever it is. And then if you win that fight, my buddy Michael Chandler wins his. I'd love to see you guys together too. I think it'd be fascinating to see. But a couple more things I just want to ask you. And I'm just curious for you to answer for people. There's a lot of people to listen to my show that are running on a treadmill right now. They're at home with their family on YouTube, watching it.

Or they're taking a walk and they're inspired by this man's story to go from not finishing high school to being a, you know, just this unbelievable worldwide figure. And by the way, one thing about the UFC guys, it's a worldwide sport. When you're the world champion, you're can tend to, that's in the world. You know, this isn't like, you know, most sports where there's three or four five countries participating. You've got all the different styles. You've got people from every

dog gun continent that you're competing against to be number one. But if there's someone listening to me, say, man, I've got a dream too, but I'm kind of on my tail right now. Things are not going my way, you know, but I've got this dream, I've got this vision. I'd like to be a champion in my way in my life. And they're running to you at a Starbucks. They're like, hey man, give me a little advice. What would you say to somebody who's trying to do something great with their life,

but they're just not there right now? That's a deep one, but the word that comes to mind as soon as you ask that question is consistency. You know, there's a lot of days that I don't want to go to the gym. There's a lot of days I don't want to get up and run miles in the morning that I'm hurting or, you know, just burn out, but I have to, but I do it. I do it. Consistency is the key, you know, time spent under that pressure.

That's the key. Obviously self-belief, work ethic, a lot of things play into accomplishing those big goals, but consistency. On the days you feel like you don't wanna do it, that's when you need to do it. I really, really think consistency. And like you said, like self-evaluation, admit your wrongs and try to get better,

so you don't do it again. Try to tighten up all the gaps. Hold yourself accountable. I think you're amazing. I'm always struck by guys that are such bad asses in one area of their life and have such stoic quiet humility and kindness and another. That duality, that complexity of a man is something that I just, and a woman, I just think is what makes a human being really beautiful. This is a dude who can get in there and he's one of the great combat sports people in the world right now.

And then you get him privately like this and there's just this kind reflective genuine man. So it really exceeded my expectations today, Dustin. I've told you this off camera, there's ever anything that I can do for you or your family in any way. I'm very much rooting for you. I'm very much impressed with you

and I know my audience is now. So biggest question because he is an entrepreneur. He is making moves in his sport. And my audience probably knows you, but may not. Where should they find you? Where should they follow you? To go stay rooting for you on your journey. What's the best place?

Probably Twitter, Instagram, it's all under Dustin Poirier. I'm on Facebook, Dustin Poirier. And if you'd like to find out more about me and my wife and my foundation are doing, you can go to thegoodfightgroup.com. And we're doing our best to change people's lives and be a beacon of light out there. You're a good man. You're a good man. Just a man, just a man, brother. Just a man.

You're a good one. And obviously an incredible, incredible athlete, but a better man. So thank you for today, brother. I am indebted to you and grateful. You know that you did this for me when I'm, we were gonna do this in person and I'm a little bit ill.

And so he sacrificed to move this up for me today while he's decompressing, while he's taking this time with his family. So I'm grateful for that brother and thank you for being here today. Thanks for having me on, man. It was awesome. Blessing for me. Hey, everybody. If you're new to the show, subscribe to an audio or video platform. Share this with people. It's the greatest show in the world. Changes people's lives. I bring you the best people at their best. And we get into their mind and heart and find out why they're winning. And hopefully they can help you win more in your life and find more happiness and success.

God bless you all, max out. My Let's Show.