Northeast
Dustin Poirier's title bout at UFC 302 'could be' his last fight: ‘This is my shot, I won’t get another one’
Dustin Poirier is on the back-nine of his splendid UFC career. In fact, he may be headed to the clubhouse very soon.
The 35-year-old will be the challenger for Islam Makhachev’s UFC Lightweight Championship on June 1 at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
It is Poirier’s third time fighting for an undisputed title. He lost each of the previous two.
Poirier lost to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 by submission on Dec. 11, 2021 in Las Vegas, just over two years after Khabib Nurmagomedov won UFC 242 in the same fashion.
Dustin Poirier poses on the scale during the UFC 299 ceremonial weigh-in at Kaseya Center on March 8, 2024 in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The Lafayette, Louisiana, native knows that this is his final chance to finally win a belt.
“I know this is my shot, I won’t get another one,” Porier said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
At the time, Porier said he would “probably retire right there” if he won a potential championship fight against Makhachev. He was unsure what would happen with a loss, and he still is.
“I want to retire from the sport – I don’t want the sport to retire me,” Poirier said to us at the time.
However, this will be his 40th professional fight, and he admits it “could be” his final fight, win or lose.
“I gotta see how I feel in there,” he says.
Well, so far, with about three weeks until fight night, he says he’s “right where I need to be.”
Dustin Poirier reacts after his victory against Benoit Saint Denis of France in a lightweight fight during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 9, 2024 in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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“We’re kind of just getting over the hump of the crazy, crazy hard work and the dangerous stuff. Now it starts to get more smoother, start focusing on weight, making sure I’m feeling good leading into fight week, firing on all cylinders, a lot of reps, a lot of technique training,” Poirier said.
The fight comes as Poirier is in the midst of a partnership with Bud Light – Poirier says it’s been roughly six weeks since he’s last had one, as he gears up for fight week, but he plans to make up for lost time in the early hours of June 2.
“Being partnered with a brand that’s in the center of the Octagon, a brand that we’ve linked to sports and America for so long, it’s just great to be on a roster with these guys,” Poirier said. “I’m a young kid from Lafayette, Louisiana chasing dreams, and I’m on the same athlete list as Peyton Manning sponsored by Bud Light. It’s crazy. But the partnership started off great. The week I got back from Miami in 299, they rolled up to my house in this huge Bud Light truck with speakers, the whole bed of the truck is an ice chest. Crazy.”
Poirier was an underdog in his fight at UFC 299 against Benoit Saint-Denis, but he came away with a huge victory. It very likely extended his career, as he had lost two of his previous three bouts.
That provided a bit of a confidence boost, but it does not sound like Poirier needed much of one.
“I’m grateful, man. I try to stay in that mindset regardless of what fight’s coming up and stuff like that. Growing up, my mindset’s changed over the years. I wake up with gratitude every day, but having this big fight on the horizon, it adds more fuel to the fire. I wake up motivated. I’ve been fighting for a long time.”
“I’m 35 years old, this is my third UFC undisputed world title shot. Like I said, man, gratitude. I’m just thankful to be in the position I’m in and to grind it out and persevere all these years to climb my way back up over and over again through these young killers in this young division. To make it to the top of the mountain and have a chance to raise my hands in the air and be the undisputed world champion, the best in the world, that’s all I’m focused on, man, just being my best at night.”
Dustin Poirier reacts after his victory against Benoit Saint Denis of France in a lightweight fight during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 9, 2024 in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
He added, “I know I can beat anybody in the world. I know this guy I’m facing is pound-for-pound the number one guy. He’s on a tear, tough stylistic matchup for me… But I think my whole career has prepared me for this night. Everything happened the way it’s supposed to happen for me to get in there and fight for the world title June 1.”
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Connecticut is taking a step to make sure workers are paid fairly.
On June 30, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 26-17, which enables the State Comptroller to issue a stop work order and withhold state funds to contractors that are not properly paying their employees.
The bill was signed on the construction site for Greeneville Elementary School, which is one of the four new elementary schools being built in Norwich. The State of Connecticut is reimbursing the city for 80% of the project, and the law applies to “any place where the state is making a payment,” Lamont said.
Wage theft can take many forms
It matters because wage theft can take many forms, from money taken from base pay, to money not given in benefits, Kimberly Glassman, director of compliance and government affairs for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, said.
Local 478 also has a presence in the Norwich school building project, with 10 to 20 union members working at each site daily, Glassman said.
What do state leaders think of the Greeneville site’s progress?
Lamont is impressed with how quickly the work is going.
“They told me that the walls went up in the last two weeks, so a lot of progress is happening,” he said.
During the bill signing, Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh touted the importance of using union labor and the value of project labor agreements.
“We are on time and on budget,” he said.
After the bill signing, Singh said its possible the Greeneville School building could be complete as soon as the first quarter of 2027, he said.
“They’re not wasting any time,” Singh said.
State Rep. Derrel Wilson attended the original Greeneville School as a kid, and still lives in Greeneville. He was credited as being one of the driving forces for getting the workers bill passed.
“It’s exciting seeing this revitalization for our neighborhood, seeing active construction and watching individuals rebuild our community,” Wilson said.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts dad on ‘adventure of a lifetime’ left fighting for his life in Fiji after noticing bug bite
A trip of a lifetime quickly turned into an unimaginable nightmare for a Massachusetts father who is fighting for his life halfway across the world after being bitten by a bug.
Scott and Claire Winslow always dreamt of sailing across the South Pacific with their family — and in April, they were finally able to turn their dream into a reality when they embarked on an “adventure of a lifetime” to enjoy their retirement, according to an online fundraiser.
But just weeks into the three-month sailing voyage, Scott noticed what appeared to be a bug bite and his health rapidly deteriorated, WBZ-TV reported.
His condition worsened for nearly two weeks while at sea alongside his nephew, and by the time their ship made it to land in Fiji, he was so weak that he was unable to walk.
The father-of-three was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors discovered the severity of his infection.
“By the time they got to a doctor, he was so sick,” Scott’s daughter Lisa Babbin told the outlet.
Scott was then transferred from a private hospital to the Intensive Care Unit at Lautoka Hospital on Vitu Levu, the main island of Fiji, where his wife Claire was heartbreakingly told to “prepare for the worst.”
The retiree remains critically ill on a ventilator, battling septic shock and organ failure.
The infection has spread to Scott’s lungs and gallbladder and his kidneys are functioning at “a fraction of their normal capacity,” the GoFundMe page says.
It’s still unclear how the infection started — whether by the insect bite, an infected wound or something else, according to the dad’s family.
While doctors are doing everything they can, Scott’s critical condition requires greater care than the local hospital can manage, according to his daughter.
“Every hour counts for my father,” Babbin said.
The family has secured a bed for the critically ill father at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Mass., but doesn’t know if they will be able to afford to fly him back to the United States for better care.
“All we need is a medflight, that’s the only thing we need to get him home,” Babbin said. “Medflights are not cheap.”
A special medical flight from Fiji to Boston — which is over 8,000 miles in distance — could set the family back a staggering $250,000, according to the outlet.
In addition to the fundraiser, the Winslow family has applied for a US government loan to help with the astronomical costs of flying Scott home as well as the foreign medical bills that are adding up without medical insurance coverage.
Scott is a “hardworking, loyal, generous” man, “always willing to lend a hand,” relatives wrote on the fundraising page.
“He has spent a lifetime helping others, supporting his family, and being there whenever someone needed him.”
While Scott’s family “remain hopeful and continue to pray” for his recovery, “they are also facing the overwhelming financial burden that comes with a catastrophic medical emergency overseas,” the fundraiser says.
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