For Dustin Poirier, move to ATT came with an unexpected mentor

Ask Dustin Poirier how he ended up in Florida and he’ll tell you: It was Chan Sung Jung that did it.

Poirier was 23 at the time, unbeaten in four fights with the UFC, fighting in his first UFC main event opposite “The Korean Zombie.” Standing in the cage and waiting for the May 2012 fight to begin, he thought he was as ready as he could possibly be. Four rounds later, as Jung caught him in a D’arce choke after a wild bout that would make several “Fight of the Year” lists by the time it was all over, he wasn’t quite so sure anymore.

“That made me reevaluate some of the things I was doing, how I was training,” Poirier (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who takes on Conor McGregor (15-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 178 pay-per-view main card in Las Vegas, told MMAjunkie.

At the time, he’d done all his training at Tim Credeur’s Gladiators Academy in Lafayette, La. He’d grown up there, and he felt at home there, but the loss to Jung made him realize something was missing. While he still regards Credeur as “a great martial artist,” he said, if he was going to be fighting the best featherweights in the world, he felt like he also needed to be training alongside them on a daily basis.

“I needed those sparring partners, is what it came down to,” Poirier said.

At American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., he found them. Maybe he even found a few too many of them, a little too soon. At first, Poirier admitted, he was “a little overwhelmed.”

“There’s always someone here who’s better than you in some area,” Poirier said. “Some are better than you in all areas. It’s a shark tank, and I needed that. I needed to be getting beat up every day because that’s how I learn and get better.”

What he wasn’t expecting was that one of those sparring partners – ATT coach and former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown – would also become a friend and a mentor.

By the time Poirier made the move to ATT, Brown’s fighting career had begun to wind down. He was in his late 30s, struggling with injuries. He’d already accepted a coaching position at the gym, Brown said, “but I was also trying to fight at the same time, so I was kind of half-assing both of them.”

A chronic neck injury resulted in Brown losing strength in his arm, then his grip. He’d tie up with teammates during wrestling practice, and it was like he couldn’t hold onto them, like one hand was no longer obeying his commands. The solution, doctors told him, was a cervical spinal fusion surgery, which Brown finally underwent in 2013, he said. He could still train after that, he said, “but I kind of had to train around it.”

When he took an honest look at his career, he had to admit that he was an ex-champ pushing 40, and about as far as he could get from a title shot in the UFC.

“So basically I’m fighting just for money, and I don’t think that’s the right reason to be doing it,” Brown said. “If your goal is not to be the best, then I think it’s time to step away.”

But as Brown was stepping away, Poirier was coming up. He bounced back from the loss to Jung with a submission win over Jonathan Brookins, and he then dropped a decision to Cub Swanson before reeling off three consecutive UFC wins. He was finally finding his footing at ATT, he said, and a big part of it was Brown, who shared with him the wisdom he’d gained after more than decade in the sport.

“He’s really taken me under his wing,” Poirier said. “He’s shown me a lot of his tricks, a lot of stuff not only on the mat but off the mat as well. Being around someone like him who’s been in the sport as long as he has and has that maturity, that knowledge, it’s priceless. I didn’t have any of that before I came here.”

But Poirier’s not the only one benefiting from the relationship. Brown’s fighting days are likely over, he admitted, and that’s something he’s tried to prepare himself for mentally. But with young fighters like Poirier depending on him, he still has a reason to get on the mats at ATT every day. He’s still needed, even if it’s more for what’s in his mind than for what his body can do. As he helps Poirier prepare for what could be the biggest fight of his career against McGregor on Saturday night in Las Vegas, there’s a special vicarious joy in it for him, as well.

“I think (Poirier) is really closing in on that title, and I’d love to be there and be part of it when he does get it,” Brown said.

As for Poirier, it’s these relationships and the work he’s getting in the gym every day that let him know he made the right decision when he moved to South Florida. It wasn’t easy to leave home, especially for a Louisiana boy like him.

“That’s part of me, Louisiana, that Cajun country,” Poirier said. “That’s who I am. My family is there, my wife’s family is there, and we didn’t know anybody here. But fighting brought me here. I checked it out, and I knew I had to move here.”

Now he has the sparring partners he needs, from Bellator interim lightweight champ Will Brooks to UFC featherweight standout Nik Lentz to guys like Brown, who can give him the benefit of some of the hard lessons they’ve learned in and out of the cage. Even if it took a leap of faith in leaving home to come here, Poirier said, he doesn’t have to wonder whether it was worth it.

“My goal is to become the best fighter in the world, and you need to make some sacrifices in order to do that,” Poirier said. “I’ve got one real shot at this. I’m not going to be 25 forever.”

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