The Film Room: Dustin Poirier

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Dustin Poirier will return to the Octagon for the first time in more than eight months when he takes on Max Holloway for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown in the UFC 236 headliner on Saturday in Atlanta. Poirier owns an 8-1-1 mark with six finishes since he moved back to the 155-pound weight class, and a victory over Holloway would likely lead to a unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year.

“The Diamond” steps into the spotlight in this edition of The Film Room.



Early in his career, Poirier was a wild and aggressive striker who got by on his sheer toughness and incredible power. He still retains some of these traits, but he is now seasoned enough to keep his aggression under control and sustain a constant pace throughout a fight. In his last two fights with Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez, Poirier finally looked like he had put it all together and put on two of the finest performances of his career. His ability to pressure opponents and outstrike them in the pocket while mixing in moments of playing on the outside and landing counters was superb. A truly great striker knows when to work on the lead and when to work on the counter, and mixing between the two during a fight can be an incredibly hard challenge with which to deal.



Most of Poirier’s leading attacks are long bursts of multiple-strike combos, but he can be effective when working on the outside and picking apart opponents with quick strikes. He does not patiently lead often and usually only does so to get reactions out of the opponent so he can counter, but he has had success with it in the past.



Poirier’s finishing sequences are beautiful to watch, as he comes forward with a perfect pace and mix of attacks. A lot of fighters throw wild punches looking for the finish, but those are much easier to see coming and block or counter. Poirier knows that at the highest level it is best to keep a constant pace and varied attack to not leave himself open and to save his cardio if he does not get the finish. Also, he often switches stances during his combos. This is similar to what Holloway does, and it will be interesting to see if both of them can successfully switch hit in the pocket.



Although his leading attacks garner all the attention, Poirier is a fantastic counterstriker; his finishes of Gaethje and Alvarez both started with a counter left. When he is playing on the outside, Poirier is always looking for his counter left hook, especially when the opponent throws kicks. Against Gaethje and Alvarez, both finishing sequences were started with a counter left hook while they were throwing a leg kick. Lately, Poirier has been countering with full-on combos instead of a single precision strike. Anytime Gaethje came forward, Poirier countered with a long exchange in the pocket. This allows him to dissuade opponents from coming in and forces them to fight at his pace and range.



We may not see much of Poirier on the ground these days, but he has shown vicious ground-and-pound when the time is right. It would be nice to see Poirier rely on his grappling a bit more and occasionally shoot for takedowns during a fight to keep the opponent guessing while adding to his already deep arsenal of attacks.



Poirier beat Holloway in 2012 with an amazing mounted triangle armbar, albeit in the Hawaiian’s UFC debut. Neither man has a grappling-heavy style, but it would not be surprising to see Poirier try to take this fight to the ground, where he most likely has the advantage. This is one of the most interesting clashes of styles of the year. If Poirier wins, he solidifies himself as a legitimate contender for Nurmagomedov. If Holloway wins, he becomes a two-weight champion and sets up a fight with Nurmagomedov to perhaps become the greatest fighter of this generation.