Dustin Poirier has spent a career taking hits for his friends. It turns out he once took a handful of something else.
In a clip shared by @HappyPunch and passed around by Spinnin Backfist on X, Poirier told the story of a teammate who was still heavy at an official weigh-in. The privacy towel was up, the fighter was naked, and the number on the scale wasn’t cooperating. So Poirier stepped in behind the towel and solved the problem with his hands.
“He was over. They had the towel out, and he was naked. I was behind the towel with him. I grabbed a handful of hairy man ass cheek, lifted him up, and got him on weight,” Poirier said.
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Sherdog picked up the story Tuesday and described it plainly: Poirier admitted he physically lifted an overweight teammate behind the towel to manipulate the scale. The clip lit up r/MMA, where a slightly different version of the line made the thread title, with Poirier saying he lifted the guy “a little bit.”
Poirier didn’t name the teammate in the material available, and he didn’t say which event or which commission was running the scale. That’s probably wise. Nobody involved needs a commission rereading old paperwork.
The towel exists for a reason. When a fighter has to strip all the way down to get every last ounce off, officials hold one up for modesty. Poirier’s story points out the obvious flaw in that setup. If the inspector can’t see behind the towel, the inspector also can’t see who else is back there doing some light deadlifting.
The Diamond’s resume
Poirier’s stories carry weight (sorry) because he has been around the biggest fights at 155 for years. He was one of the names on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s list of victims before Nurmagomedov retired 29-0 in 2020. He has also fought for the BMF title twice and come up short both times, losing to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 and to Max Holloway at UFC 318.
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That belt is back on the schedule. Charles Oliveira (37-11) defends it against Diego Lopes (28-8) at UFC 335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Eddie Alvarez, Poirier’s old rival, told MMA Junkie that matchup is “BMF-worthy for sure.”
Sal’s take
I’ve lost money on fighters who missed weight by half a pound and then looked like they’d been drained through a coffee filter on fight night, so part of me respects any corner that finds a way. The other part of me does the math. A scale reading is the one number in this sport that’s supposed to be beyond argument. Judges are a coin flip, odds are a mood, but the scale is the scale. Poirier just told us that number can be beaten by a buddy with a strong grip and zero shame. If I’m a commission, I’m moving the towel holder to a spot where they can see everyone’s hands. If I’m a bettor, I’m adding a new line to my handicapping notes for weigh-in day: check who’s standing behind the towel.
