Dustin Poirier thinks he’ll upset the home crowd at UFC Dublin by finishing Joseph Duffy in the headline bout.
The number 15-ranked lightweight is scheduled to throw down with the rising Irish UFC star in the main event on the 3Arena card on October 24th. The Diamond revealed on The MMA Hour that he initially wanted to fight on the upcoming card in his hometown of Houston, but a main event slot in Ireland was just too good to refuse.
“Fighting is what I do, it’s what excites me and what gets me up in the morning. When I found out we were going out there behind enemy lines fighting another guy who’s got a lot of eyes on him, it was exciting for me.”
Poirier moved up to lightweight after suffering the first knockout loss of his career to current interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor at UFC 178.
Despite engaging in a heated war of words with the Dubliner in the build up to the fight, and having the Irish crowd against him, Poirier admitted that the Irish fans have been very supportive since it was announced that he would be fighting in Ireland.
“Across social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Irish fans have been reaching out to me and it’s been pretty cool. You have a few jerks and guys talking crap, but for the most part it’s been a lot of positive stuff. People are excited to see me come to Dublin and throw down. That gets me pumped up as well.”
“I think true fight fans in Ireland know true fighters and guys who are going to go out there and put it all on the line and they appreciate that. Of course, they know I’m one of those guys.”
Duffy is now 2-0 in the UFC, with both his wins coming by way of first round finish. The Donegal native knocked out Jake Lindsey in his promotional debut, and more recently scored a phenomenal submission victory over BJJ black belt Ivan Jorge at UFC Glasgow. He also holds a pristine 7-0 professional boxing record.
Poirier is impressed with Duffy’s overall game, but admitted he doesn’t pay much heed to his record in the ring, which he feels was padded with wins against bums.
“I’m not the type to talk trash about the guy, and his hands do look good, but it looks like he just fought bums as a boxer and that’s not that impressive to me as a fighter. As a fan, people say he’s an undefeated boxer but I don’t think he fought anyone with a winning record.”
“Like I said, I’m not talking trash, I’m just stating facts. I would have beaten all those guys as well, and I’ve been working on my boxing a lot. If he wants to box, we can box and I’ll put on a show for the fans.”
So, how does he see the bout ending? Well, Poirier reckons there’s going to be a lot of disappointed Irish fight fans inside the 3Arena.
“I really feel like I can submit him rather than knock him out. I think I’m a better wrestler than him. For being a boxer, it’s not like he’s been knocking guys out, even in his boxing record.”
UFC Fight Night 77 takes place on October 24th. Irish man Cathal Pendred faces undefeated English fighter, and training partner of Joseph Duffy, Tom Breese on the undercard.
