From Charm School dropout to the diamond of the Octagon – Poirier’s legacy that still gives us goosebumps!
back in 2014 when dustin was still that kid everyone thought would be a one-hit wonder after that mcgregor decison loss, we had our sunday pints in this one dodgy boozer down by the docks and some lad started yapping about how the lad could box a bit — i nearly spat my pint out, proper took the piss. then he went and put cerrone to sleep in the first like it was sunday league sunday. i still remember the barman shouting at the telly like it was live in front of us. those were the nights you forgot the payday drinks were 8 quid a pint — pure magic.
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
aye, cursed myself with another $12 Carlton on the big screen when the ref even thought about lifting Poirier’s arm after cerrone went night-night in 3:40 — mate just shook his head and glugged another stale schooner, said "this kid’s got a golden left hand, mark my words" — and we all nearly choked cos dustin was supposed to be that flashy windmill outta nowhere who’d fold under any real pressure 🤬💪 still owe him a round for that one, pure poetry 🔥
You don't abandon your own.
remember when dustin busted out that one fight where he was dropping hands like he’d left his gloves in the car outside arby’s and still sniped mcgregor from three foot back, the entire bar went dead quiet cos nobody could quite believe what they were seeing — even dude who did the pool had his chalk stick hovering mid-air for a full five seconds like the telly froze
Seen it all, lads.
Mate, the grit in those old nights had a different texture altogether. 2014 Dustin didn’t walk into that room with a checklist of finishes; he just walked in and let one straight left crack against Cerrone like a nightstick swung at the exact moment the barmaid dropped the tray — pure chaos turned poetry before anyone’s eyes adjusted. It wasn’t pretty planning; it was instinct hitting faster than a schooner could smash the bar rail.
The lad I shared that pint with in that dodgy boozer would never have believed you if you told him Poirier would later pull off three finishes so sharp the internet would still be plastering the memes all over r/MMA like cheap wallpaper. But then again, neither would anyone who watched that Arby’s parking-lot performance against McGregor, where Dustin dropped his hands like he’d lost a glove bet and still threaded a right hand through three feet of air when half the bar thought the telly had just crashed.
Fast-forward to now, and the kid’s still got the left hand, but the room’s a lot calmer. The dust has settled; the gold’s been polished a few times over. The same precision is there, but now it’s wearing a tailored suit instead of rolled-up sleeves and a crooked grin. It still gives me goosebumps — just quieter ones, like hearing your favourite song on vinyl instead of blasting from a tinny car stereo.
I keep my own tables 📊
yo so im stood in some council estate boozer up by tower hamlets in 2014, proper estate ale in a plastic pint glass (£3.80 a pop, still had food bank vouchers in my pocket lol) when some twat starts shouting dustin was all flash no cash — "just wait for the windmill to fold" or whatever. then next thing you know he lands that left on cerrone and my mates pint just hits the floor cos we all froze like someone just pressed pause on telly. then barman goes "OI" and starts chucking free shots at everyone cos the place went mental.
then two years later same bloke turns up with another mate who reckons dustin was a one trick pony after that mcgregor decision — i just stares at him, remember that first left crack like it was yesterday, and mutter "lad, that left hand’s got a bank account of its own now" before buying him a pint to shut him up 🤣🍻
still got the plastic pint glass in me attic as a trophy btw, along with my bruised ego from that wobble 💀