The UFC’s former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier, just sat down for an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow and ‘The Diamond’ touched on a number of subjects, both typical and controversial.
This interview was facilitated by Timex Watches and Poirier fulfills his obligation to talk about the product. But before that happened I asked him about the most pressing matter in MMA, the fallout from Dana White being caught on camera slapping his wife at a New Year’s Eve party in Cabo San Lucas.
Poirier obviously didn’t want to dwell on the subject, but he made it clear that White’s behaviour can not be condoned.
Check out that portion of our chat below:
Eddie Mercado: You have tons of clout with MMA fans, you’ve put the time in, and did a great job of building your brand. I feel like it’s important to get your thoughts on this, and I hate that this is even a thing, but Dana White & his wife were caught on film slapping each other. As someone who knows what it takes to build a brand and keep it progressing forward, how does the UFC and Dana bounce back from this debacle?
Dustin Poirier: Dude. (long pause) I’m not sure. I have no clue. You should never put your hands on a woman. I don’t know the repercussions that come along with somebody of his stature, running these businesses and doing something like that. I have no clue. It’s not a good look for sure.
EM: Do you think the UFC should issue a sanction on Dana, or suspend him like they would a fighter, or even stay out of it?
DP: I’m staying out of it because I’d be talking out my ass. I don’t know what should happen. I don’t know what should happen.
EM: It’s a wild situation, and the irony of it all with the whole Power Slap thing coming out. Have you seen this deal?
DP: Yeah, haha.
EM: Would you consider that a sport?
DP: Nooo (shakes head).
EM: Haha I don’t think it is either. I think it’s a little silly.
DP: It’s more of a toughman competition type thing, you know. And I’m just not educated on the techniques of slapping somebody, so.
EM: Perhaps you could cross-train with Nate Diaz and get your slap skills up?
DP: (Laughs)
When talking about Poirier’s sponsorship with Timex, the reason he was here in the first place, we touched on how the partnership came about and just his relationship with watches in general.
Check out that part of our chat below:
EM: A little birdie told me that you were partnering up with Timex Watches, who is teaming up with the UFC to be the promotion’s official time keeper. How in the world did this deal come to be?
DP: Timex and the UFC did a deal where Timex was going to be the official time keeper of the UFC, like you said, and they might have wanted to pick up some talent that had some big fights coming up. SO this kind of happened right before I bought my last fight at Madison Square Garden. I’m not sure of all the fighters that they kind of vetted out, and chose from, but I know for sure me, Sean O’Malley.
My deal is a three month deal I got with them, and he had a big fight coming up as well, so I don’t know anything about his deal. They saw big fights coming up, and their partnership was newer, and they took advantage of it. So, it was a big opportunity for everyone.
EM: I remember being a kid and having one of those little Timex Indiglo watches, and that thing was so tough. It just wouldn’t die. Are there going to be different versions, like maybe a Dustin Poirier style?
DP: I’d love to do a custom watch for myself, or that they sell or something like that. I’m totally open to that and interested in it, but their UFC line, they have a bunch of watches specifically made for the UFC. A bunch of cool designs, some sleek designs, some bigger stuff you know, but the Indiglo is still there. (lights up his watch)
EM: Let’s goooo! So in the movies, before guys would get into a fistfight you always see them take their watches off, remove their jackets, maybe roll up their sleeves. Would you be have to take this UFC watch off before getting into a scuffle?
Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more from this exclusive interview with the former interim UFC lightweight champion. We’ll also be dropping a video of the interview in the near future.
DP: Not this one (the one he’s wearing). They have another one that has some metal, it’s a little heavy. I might have to take that one off. This one’s pretty sporty and sleek. I can throw with this (starts to shadow box); I can grapple with this. I’ll be alright.
About the author: Eddie Mercado is a writer and content creator for Bloody Elbow, and has covered combat sports since 2015. Eddie covers everything from betting odds and live events, to conducting fighter interviews and co-hosting the 6th Round post-fight show and the 6th Round Retro. He retired at 1-0 in professional MMA, competed in one Muay Thai match in Thailand, and is currently a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu under the great Diego Bispo.
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