Dustin Poirier Able to Focus on Fight, Not Weight Cut Competing at 155 Pounds

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Dustin Poirier had a successful featherweight run in the UFC, compiling an 8-3 record and breaking into the division’s top 10 in the process.

However, due to a consistently draining weight cut, the 26-year-old says he didn’t really get to savor any of it.

“I would have to start at least two months out. Everything would have to be weighted out and ate at a certain time. If I ate a couple almonds that I wasn’t supposed to, I would be heavier the next day. It was really down as low as I could get my body to at 145; it was tough. It made fight week not enjoyable.”

That changed ahead of UFC Fight Night “Mendes vs. Lamas,” where Poirier, competing at 155 pounds for the first time since 2010, authored an entertaining -- and more enjoyable -- first-round knockout of Carlos Diego Ferreira at the Patriot Center, in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday afternoon.

“I had a blast this week. I was comfortable. It was a lot less stress,” he admitted. “[In the past], my whole fight camp was: What can I do to burn some extra calories after this workout; it was more about the weight cut than the fight. This camp was all about the fight. I focused on my performance the whole time. Weight wasn’t an issue; 155 is closer to my natural weight. My body just wanted to grow, but I’ve been holding it back for years.”

While the Louisiana native doesn’t have any particular opponent in mind for his next lightweight foray, he says he has already been promised a spot on the UFC’s Fight Night bill in New Orleans on June 6.

“I haven’t really been thinking about opponents but it’s wide open. My plan is to crack the Top 10 this year,” Poirier said. “But I know for sure after they fight [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva told me he has a spot for me June 6 in New Orleans. I am Louisiana, so we can’t go there without me being on the card. Whoever wants it then, they can get it.”