Written by Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Dustin Poirier retired this past Saturday night at UFC 318, but for all the ways he’ll be remembered for the incredible wars he provided during his career, he never captured an undisputed title.
But UFC analyst Alan Jouban doesn’t buy that Poirier shouldn’t be remembered as a champion when looking at the ridiculous record he put together over the years. Most notably, Poirier holds wins over five former UFC champions not to mention a long list of ranked opposition in arguably the deepest and toughest division in the sport.
Add to that, Jouban believes Poirier claiming the interim lightweight title back in 2019 still counts for something, especially because reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was on the shelf after being suspended for a post-fight brawl following his win over Conor McGregor.
“I think a lot of people echo they realize Dustin never had the undisputed championship belt. But when you really sit back and look at it, he had the interim belt,” Jouban said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “What was going on at the time, he fought Max Holloway in Atlanta, Ga., because what was going on? Khabib [Nurmagomedov] took time off after the incident [with Conor McGregor] so rather than stripping Khabib, which with all respect to him they should have, the guy didn’t defend his belt for over a year or something, it should have been an undisputed belt on the line.
“Him and Israel Adesanya [when he fought Kelvin Gastelum], both have had that same remark about it, that should have been for the real belt that night.”
Regardless of interim versus undisputed, Jouban feels like Poirier’s record as a whole separates him from almost every other fighter who’s ever competed in the sport.
Poirier fought top contender after top contender and holds wins over the vast majority of them. He may not have ended his career with the “BMF” title around his waist after a third fight with Max Holloway but Jouban knows Poirier still deserved it.
“In my mind, he’s kind of the uncrowned ‘BMF’ champion because look at who he has wins over,” Jouban explained. “He has two wins over Max Holloway. He has wins over Justin Gaethje. Wins over Michael Chandler. That was the violent triangle at one point, that was the most violent ‘BMF’ type guys in the UFC and Dustin beat all of those guys. Two wins over Conor. The first guy to knock Conor out. Two wins over Conor McGregor.
“You start looking at other possible ‘BMF’ type fights. The Dan Hooker fight in COVID, one of my favorite violent fights of all-time. He has wins over so many guys but the circumstances weren’t for the ‘BMF’ at the time. Two wins over Max Holloway but the third one when he was 36 years old, when the belt [was on the line]. You look at all the former champions that he beat. The Anthony Pettis,’ the Conor McGregor’s, Eddie Alvarez, he beat all these guys that were champions but at the time he fought them, he didn’t have the belt.”
When the “BMF” title was first introduced, it was effectively a fun and imaginative way to sell a fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz, who both possessed that “anyone, anywhere, any time” philosophy when it came to their careers. Both were also known for putting on ultra-exciting fights even if neither of them were able to win a championship.
Jouban doesn’t see anybody who embodies that old school spirit more than Poirier, especially when looking at the murderer’s row of fighters he faced over the years and just because he never claimed the undisputed title doesn’t diminish his accomplishments.
“Look at strength of schedule,” Jouban said. “Strength of schedule, I’ve always said this, Dustin Poirier is at the top of the heap. Aside from Jon Jones just because he’s the best and he’s beaten all the champions. Dustin Poirier is No. 2 on my list of strength of schedule, the toughest fights in the UFC.
“The 155-pound division has always reigned supreme and they’ve always had the biggest stars, ‘BMF’ lies there as well. The toughest fighters, the most competitive division with the most fighters in the stable and he has ran through all the toughest guys since he has been in the UFC for 15 years. His strength of schedule alone warrants it.”
Poirier competed for the undisputed UFC lightweight title twice during his career but came up short both times.
That still doesn’t tell the complete story about Poirier’s remarkable career and it’s difficult not to consider him one of the “baddest motherf*ckers” of all time.
“Respect to all these other guys, he’s really the uncrowned ‘BMF’ in my mind because he’s the one that has more wins over all these tough guys than anyone,” Jouban said. “Dustin Poirier’s strength of schedule is like no other.”