The Takedown | UFC 269: Dustin Poirier’s ascent to champion now goes through Charles Oliveira as blue collar fighter looks to enter new level of stardom
- ‘Diamond’ has a date with destiny against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 in Las Vegas
- Poirier has dispatched Conor McGregor twice, and could add to an already impressive resume and pound-for-pound ranking with a win over the Brazilian
Dustin Poirier exists in an interesting space when it comes to the UFC stardom hierarchy.
One would think the only person to have beaten Conor McGregor twice would be a celebrity juggernaut himself, but Poirier’s reserved, humble, blue collar personality has often kept him as a supporting cast member in the UFC’s theatre show of egomania.
Winning is one thing, but MMA fans want splash, pizazz and highlight reel knockouts along with their champions. Kamaru Usman has learned this the hard way, as he’s been slowly pushing his way to the top with clinical, sometimes boring victories, now finally allowing his personality to flourish in the face of a supervillain like Covington.
“Put some respect on my name,” yelled Usman at UFC 258 after beating Gilbert Burns in February, but it wasn’t until he beat Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal and Covington in grudge matches that UFC president Dana White and the rest started treating him like MMA royalty.
Usman has clearly figured out by now that it’s not just personality, its beating personalities, that makes you famous outside the Octagon.
