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B/R Exclusive: Dustin Poirier Fights on Despite the Doubters

Dustin Poirier, by any measure, is doing well for himself.

He's respected among his peers. He's got a happy family. He's succeeded with outside business interests. And he's got enough money to live comfortably for a long, long time.

But he's not content. At least not in a competitive sense.

Even after a 15-year MMA career and 30 fights in the UFC—including a victory total (22) that's tied for fourth on the promotion's all-time list—the 35-year-old's primal fire still burns.

Never was that clearer than Saturday night in Miami.

Matched with streaking lightweight contender Benoît Saint-Denis in the co-main event at the Kaseya Center, Poirier headed back to his stool after a first round in which he was struck 53 times and taken down twice while fending off a submission try and being controlled for better than three minutes.