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After lapse vs. McGregor, Poirier says Ireland headliner won't 'mess with my psyche'

Dustin Poirier let Irish MMA fans alter his mental approach to a fight once before. He said he’s not about to let that happen again.

Poirier (18-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) meets Joseph Duffy (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in UFC Fight Night 76’s headliner on Oct. 24 in Dublin. “The Diamond” enters enemy territory for the UFC Fight Pass-streamed event at 3Arena in a high-stakes contest for the lightweight division.

The situation isn’t entirely unfamiliar for Poirier. He fought another Irishman, interim UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, at UFC 178 in September 2014, but that fight took place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

As has become routine for McGregor’s Las Vegas bouts, a hefty convoy of fans traveled from Ireland to “Sin City” to support their own. The passionate fans were loud and outgoing, which made the atmosphere feel more like McGregor’s home turf than Poirier’s.

Poirier said the crowd reaction to his UFC 178 fight wasn’t what he expected, and he lost by first-round TKO. The intensity is going to be turned up several notches when he visits Ireland to compete against Duffy, but Poirier said he’s prepared for the crowd reaction.

“With the McGregor fight, it affected me a little bit, but I think that was more because it was unexpected,” Poirier told MMAjunkie Radio. “I didn’t expect it to be like that. I thought it was on my home turf. I didn’t expect to get booed and stuff thrown at me and all that. That was surprising while it was happening.

“My coaches have done a great job of throwing Guinness bottles at me while I’m sparring, so I don’t think anything is going to mess with my psyche. I feel like I’m ready for the challenge. Waking up every morning knowing I’m going in to his home turf and going to be rooted against, for some reason it excites me. At this point in my career I’m happy and excited about that challenge.”

The biggest difference between the McGregor and Duffy fights from Poirier’s perspective is weight class. Following his defeat to “The Notorious,” Poirier moved up to 155 pounds and has been stellar.

He’s 2-0 since the move and has received a “Performance of the Night” bonus in both of his victories. Poirier said his overall energy level and training effectiveness were lifted by the change in weight class. He now believes another triumphant performance is on its way.

“The cut to 145 was brutal; I started making the cut when I was around 21, 22 years old, and it only got harder,” Poirier said. “At 145 I felt different in the gym than I felt in the fight. At 155 I feel like myself. Not only that, the recovery – going to 145, my body would hurt all the time through camp. I was skinny, and it wasn’t natural for me to be that low in weight and train that hard. Now my body recovers better, I feel explosive, and I can wake up the next day and train hard again.”

Aside from being forced to deal with the raucous Irish crowd, Poirier must clear an obstacle at UFC Fight Night 76 that’s plagued his UFC career so far: fighting high-profile opponents near the top of a card.

Poirier’s three UFC losses – against McGregor, Cub Swanson and Chan Sung Jung – were all matchups with a prominent position on each fight card. Each time Poirier failed to break through the barrier with a big win.

The 26-year-old said he has a list of goals for both the near and distance future. Scoring his first UFC main-event victory is naturally among them, but Poirier said he also has his sights set on other things, including a specific goal completely unrelated to fighting.

“I’m big into setting goals and setting small milestones I need to reach to make that happen,” Poirier said. “Right now it’s just to continue my winning streak at 155 pounds, get a new contract with the UFC and somehow – this is just the goal list I have written down right now – to help the youth somehow.

“I’d like to use my platform as a fighter to maybe reach out to some troubled youth or something. That’s a goal I have written down.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 76, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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