As a WEC vet, Dustin Poirier has been competing under the Zuffa banner for nearly nine years, and with his opportunity arriving to finally wrap a belt around his waist, “The Diamond” says he won’t be denied.

“I just feel like I’m different than a lot of these guys,” Poirier told MMA Junkie Radio. “When I set my mind to something, I find ways to make it happen by any means. Since I was 17, 18 years old, I set the goal to be a world champion in mixed martial arts, and in my amateur career, I won some small belts. In my pro career, I won some small belts, and now we’re at the pinnacle. It’s time to collect this one.”

UFC lightweight Poirier (24-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC), who’s currently ranked No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA lightweight rankings, meets current featherweight champ Max Holloway (20-3 MMA, 16-3 UFC) for the UFC’s interim lightweight title in the main event of next month’s UFC 236, which takes place April 13 in Atlanta and airs on pay-per-view.

Poirier has certainly earned the right to take part in a UFC title fight, interim or otherwise. His current four-fight winning streak includes finishes of stalwarts Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Anthony Pettis, not to mention three fight-night bonuses.

But he’s been sidelined since July, forced to wait while current lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and former title holder Conor McGregor settled their differences – first in the cage, then before the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Poirier admits the process was frustrating, at one point even pushing for the promotion to grant him a release, but is now in far better spirits.

“That’s just the business of what we do at the highest level,” Poirier said. “I was just in a rough spot. I felt like I was being put on the shelf for other people’s actions. I did nothing but show up and fight, make weight, and leave it all out there every time I went in.

“I wasn’t getting fights that made sense, I thought. I wasn’t getting any offers, actually, and I felt like that was because of the whole situation at the top of the division with the champion and the top-ranked guy, Conor, being suspended. We were all waiting for that hearing to happen, and when it finally happened, I was assuming there would be some clarity at the top of the division immediately after, and then a couple of weeks went by and there was still no – nothing started moving. So I was like, ‘Dude, what’s going on here?’ you know? I just got really frustrated and wanted to fight and wanted a fight that made sense.”

While it was a brief low point, Poirier said things are on track now. A decade into a professional career that has been contested at the sport’s highest level for nearly its entirety, Poirier said his enthusiasm for MMA has never been higher.

“I enjoy this,” Poirier said. “I started doing this because I just loved it. I was very passionate for this pure form of fighting. I still am, and I’m excited to do it. It’s still a rush, and it’s still – I’m anxious for this fight, and I still have all those feelings I always had, so this is still a lot of fun to me, but at this point in my career, I’ve made a decent living for me and my family. I have a daughter now, and I’m just happy for all the sacrifices that I have made along my career, and the ups and downs that helped make me into the person that I am right now. I’m just good.

“I’m happy with what I’ve done in mixed martial arts, but I’m not satisfied. I’ve got more to do, and I’m just enjoying the journey.”

The UFC 236 headliner serves as a rematch, of course, though the 2012 clash between the two fighters would seem to have little bearing on what happens next month – Holloway was a 20-year-old UFC newcomer at the time of the first meeting, and Poirier’s skills were still in their infancy compared to his current level.

Still, Poirier did submit Holloway in that first contest, and while he respects the man known as “Blessed,” the longtime American Top Team fighter believes he can repeat the performance.

“He seems really well-rounded, honestly, but I have a lot of belief in myself and my ability to make things happen in combat and in the fight,” Poirier said. “All I need is one – one mistake – for him to dip his head the wrong way or to grab me the wrong way or to get up off the ground the wrong way or take a shot. I can finish the fight anywhere.

“I feel like I’m very well-balanced and there’s not a place the fight can go that I don’t have an answer to something he’s doing. All I need is one mistake or one opportunity, and I’m going to take full advantage of it, and I can finish the fight again.”

Poirier knows that reaching his ultimate goal won’t come easy. While Holloway is moving up a division, he’s currently riding a 13-fight winning streak and is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Still, Poirier is confident his efforts will be rewarded.

“It’s going to be an incredible fight,” Poirier said. “I’m going to leave it all out there, and I’m coming home with gold. I just know it. I feel it in my bones.

“Tune in – it’s going to be great.”

For more on UFC 236, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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