After his knockout loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 last September, Dustin Poirier admitted it left him in a “dark place” and made him consider retiring from MMA.
Dustin Poirier's last knockout loss was back in 2016, when it ended in the first round of the main event against Michael Johnson. In his 32-fight MMA career, he has only met that fate three times.
Despite suffering a knockout loss last July, Poirier returned with a knockout win of his own last Saturday, bouncing back from a tough period for The Diamond.
With a knockout win over Saint-Denis at UFC 299 last Saturday, the 35-year-old bounced back and got back on track.
His mental struggles after losing to Gaethje would have gone completely unnoticed had he not been part of the University of Louisiana team and family.
Ahead of his return fight against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299, the 35-year-old admitted he has made some lifestyle changes to keep his mental health in good shape. Seeing a therapist was one of the changes Poirier made, along with taking a morning walk without being distracted by his cell phone.
Dustin Poirier talks about his mental struggle after losing to Gaethje
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on Monday's MMA Hour, Poirier talked about how his knockout loss to Gaethje sent him into a dark place, to the point where he considered retiring from the sport.
“The world doesn't know, but those close to me know. I went through some real mental struggles and went through some things, and from that time on I I started practicing mindfulness, setting my intentions, and just trying to be grateful every day,” Poirier said.
When asked how bad the struggle was, Poirier admitted it was “really bad,” but talked about how grateful he is to have his wife, Jolie, whom he's known since they were teenagers.
“So many people have helped me, my friends, my business partner here in Louisiana, and my wife. I just want to thank her. If I were in her shoes, I would take what she took away. I don't know if I can do that. I wish I could, but I'm just grateful that there are people like that.
“There were several times (retirement was considered), but the worst case scenario is very scary. “Because fighting is kind of my mindset and fighting is everything to me, it's been my whole life. ” he added.
Another fighter who recently opened up about a similar fight is Alexander Volkanovski. The former featherweight champion spoke about his mental struggles following his knockout loss to Islam Makhachev last October.
Poirier admitted that seeing Volkanovski open up made him realize he was going through the same thing, even though he had never told other fighters about his mental struggles.
“Every time I saw Volk (Alexander Volkanovski) talking and expressing his feelings and me being honest, I thought we were going through the same thing. After the game. , I actually started therapy.”
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