Dustin Poirier Insists UFC Fight Night 76 Isn’t About Conor McGregor

UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier knows that he’s probably most well known for his UFC 178 knockout loss to interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor, but he’s not going to let that define him.

Heading into his main event fight against Joseph Duffy at October 24’s UFC Fight Night 76 from Dublin, Ireland, “The Diamond” now has a two-fight win streak intact after returning to his more natural weight class of lightweight, starching Carlos Diego Ferreira at April’s UFC Fight Night 63 before making a quick turnaround to stop Yancy Medeiros at June’s UFC Fight Night 66 from his native Louisiana.

So while many fans may point to his loss to McGregor as a defining moment, Poirier told UFC.com that this simply isn’t about “The Notorious,” but more about how he’s reinvented his career at 155 pounds:

“I feel more athletic, explosive and powerful. I’m happy I made the move. This has nothing to do with McGregor,” Poirier said.  “This is a whole new fight and I’m at a completely different place in my career.”

It may be true that Poirier’s current bout with Duffy has nothing to do with McGregor in a direct sense, but it does present an odd dynamic in the fact that Poirier loss to the Irish trash talker while Duffy was the last man to defeat him years ago.

The rising lightweight contender has a two-fight win streak of his own in the octagon after knocking out Jake Lindsey at UFC 185 and submitting Ivan Jorge at UFC Fight Night 72, and has looked like nothing less than a bulldozer in those two bouts.

Poirier said he knows all about Duffy’s pressuring tendencies, and that’s why he’ll have to take the fight to him in Ireland with an all-around showcase of skill:

“Duffy’s a pressure fighter. I can’t let him bully me around,” Poirier said. “I’ve been working a lot on my boxing and wrestling and feel like this will be one my most complete performances.”