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Dustin Poirier is all set to shine bright as he steps into the Octagon to settle the score with Conor McGregor. Also known as 'El Diamante', Spanish for 'The Diamond', Dustin Poirier strives to live up to his nickname in every sense.
Let's see how Dustin Poirier has personified the tag of 'El Diamante':
The origins of Dustin Poirier
Dustin began fighting much before turning to MMA. He often ended up in street fights as a teenager. In fact, the amount of trouble he got himself into forced him to drop out of school. It was after this that he diverted his entire attention towards mixed martial arts.
His persona on the street itself made it clear that he was a person not to be messed with.
Dustin Poirier: 'The Diamond' of MMA
Dustin Poirier began his MMA career by displaying exceptional toughness. His ability to both take hits and deliver huge blows makes him a force to reckon with.
Upon turning pro in 2009, he went about collecting scalps in local fighting championships in Louisiana. He also had the tendency to get locked into drag out wars.
A great example of such a fight is his most recent bout against Dan Hooker. 'The Diamond' kept delivering shots and just did not back down from the absolute dogfight that came to life that night. And, this brings us to yet another personification of 'The Diamond'.
The fight with Dan Hooker saw Poirier give everything he had to Dan Hooker, and Hooker doing exactly the same. Both fighters applied relentless pressure, and Poirier was able to batten down the hatches, up the pressure even more, and come back stronger after being hit. While many great fighters would have given up during such during such a mentally and physically exhausting bout, Poirier only got better. And as we all know, diamonds are formed under pressure.
His toughness and ability to take a huge number of shots speaks to his hardy chin However, there was a phase in his career that he lost this ability. When Dustin Poirier moved down to the Featherweight division in the UFC, his ability to take shots was drastically affected. Nevertheless, he moved back up to Lightweight stronger and better than ever, and took the entire division by storm.
