Is fighting at home in New Orleans an advantage for Dustin Poirier at UFC 318?

THE FEEL-GOOD MOMENTS kept coming for Dustin Poirier, 1 gathering connected another.

It was a UFC Fight Night successful April 2015, 4 years into his Octagon career, and Poirier was loving the feeling of yet walking into the cage arsenic a lightweight, his earthy value class, aft cutting an other 10 pounds to featherweight for his archetypal 11 UFC appearances. Minutes later, helium felt the joyousness of vocation renewal erstwhile his first-round knockout of Diego Ferreira enactment Poirier backmost successful the triumph file conscionable months aft he'd suffered a momentum-halting decision astatine the hands of Conor McGregor. Pocketing a $50,000 bonus for show of the nighttime felt beauteous sweet, too.

But Poirier derived his astir palpable jubilation that nighttime from what UFC matchmaker Joe Silva said to him instantly aft the fight. As they shared a congratulatory handshake successful the cage, Silva reminded Poirier, who is from Lafayette, Louisiana, that the UFC had a combat paper scheduled 2 months aboriginal successful New Orleans.

"[Silva] said he'll prevention maine a spot if I wanted it," Poirier told reporters afterward, a grin dispersed crossed his face. "New Orleans, I'm coming home, baby!"

That June, Poirier made the two-hour thrust from his hometown to the Big Easy, carrying with him the hopes and dreams of Bayou Country. The UFC's archetypal New Orleans lawsuit successful 4 years primitively was to beryllium headlined by chap Lafayette autochthonal Daniel Cormier, but helium was moved to a airy heavyweight rubric combat connected a antithetic night. Lafayette welterweight Alan Jouban besides was scheduled for the card, but helium pulled retired with an injury. That near 1 section leader for the assemblage to marque sound for astatine the Smoothie King Center.

It should beryllium nary astonishment that Poirier's walkout blew the extortion disconnected the house. Colorful fleur-de-lis flags of Acadiana, honoring his location region's Cajun heritage, waved successful the stands arsenic helium made his mode toward the Octagon. Poirier passed galore acquainted faces successful the crowd, aboriginal saying, "I knew I'd person them connected my side. They're bayou people. That's the mode we are."

Poirier someway managed to rein successful his emotions during the walk, making it an energetic precursor to the combat itself. Poirier wasted nary clip rewarding his jazzed-up fans, sending Yancy Medeiros to the canvas doubly connected the mode to a knockout triumph successful 2 minutes, 38 seconds. It was implicit astir earlier the welcome-home cheers had died down.

"I'm driving consecutive location to Lafayette, not excessively acold from here," Poirier said erstwhile asked during the postfight quality league however helium would celebrate. "We're boiling immoderate crawfish."

If that abbreviated night's enactment near Poirier wishing for much clip successful the down-home spotlight, he's astir to get it. For the archetypal clip successful a decade, the UFC volition beryllium backmost successful New Orleans connected Saturday for UFC 318 (10 p.m. ET connected ESPN+ PPV; prelims astatine 6 p.m. ET connected ESPN2 and ESPN+). Poirier is headlining successful a trilogy combat with Max Holloway.

This location crippled volition beryllium adjacent much peculiar for Poirier than the past one, due to the fact that determination won't beryllium a adjacent one.

POIRIER HAS BEEN talking astir status for years. He besides has been pushing for a instrumentality to New Orleans. Finally, it each came unneurotic successful April, and Poirier gleefully went nationalist with the quality portion helium was successful Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the NFL draft. Poirier sat connected the acceptable of "The Pat McAfee Show" successful a achromatic New Orleans Saints hoodie, talking astir however honored helium felt to denote 1 of the Saints' draught picks that night. And speaking of announcements ...

"We're coming backmost to New Orleans. The UFC is coming backmost to New Orleans successful July," Poirier said. "July 19 is going to beryllium my last fight. I'm going to laic the gloves down successful Louisiana, wherever it each started for me. The full travel started there."

That points to a crushed this location crippled is adjacent much meaningful than the 1 a decennary ago: Poirier is adjacent much profoundly Lafayette now. He has ever celebrated his roots, but backmost successful 2015 helium was spending overmuch of his clip successful South Florida, wherever helium trained with American Top Team. But erstwhile helium and his wife, Jolie, became parents the pursuing year, they moved backmost to Louisiana truthful their girl would beryllium astir extended family.

"Fighting, you person to beryllium selfish," Poirier told ESPN backmost then. "But I didn't privation to instrumentality that distant from her childhood."

At the aforesaid time, the Poiriers became progressively progressive successful serving their community. They auctioned disconnected respective of his combat kits to rise wealth for section causes, which led to the instauration of the Good Fight Foundation, a nonprofit that provides meals, schoolhouse supplies and enactment to underserved communities successful southbound Louisiana.

His combat vocation mightiness beryllium astatine its extremity point, but Poirier is conscionable getting started.

It is some puzzling and cleanable that Holloway is Poirier's last opponent. Some whitethorn wonderment wherefore Poirier, who owns 2 victories implicit Holloway, would springiness him a 3rd shot. Might the entreaty beryllium that this matchup offers Poirier an accidental to locomotion disconnected into the Lake Pontchartrain sunset with Holloway's symbolic BMF rubric loop slung implicit his shoulder? Or possibly it's simply that Holloway, a erstwhile featherweight champion who has landed the astir important strikes successful UFC past (3,457), qualified for Poirier's abbreviated database of swan opus requirements?

"I said, 'legends only,'" Poirier told McAfee successful April, reflecting connected what helium told UFC matchmakers arsenic they were looking to publication his finale.

Poirier besides appreciates the full-circle quality of the creation with Holloway. "I was his archetypal combat successful the UFC backmost successful 2012," Poirier said, "and he's going to beryllium my past combat successful the UFC."

Such symmetry is arsenic uncommon successful MMA arsenic a palmy vocation ending. The closing chapter's plotline is inactive to beryllium determined, but considering that the last enactment volition instrumentality spot successful Poirier's backyard -- and considering that that backyard is located successful the bosom of Louisiana's festive civilization -- determination surely volition beryllium a solemnisation nary substance who gets his manus raised this weekend. And since Poirier won't person to chopped value ever again, possibly this clip his crawfish boil tin see andouille sausage and decorativeness with pecan pralines.

HOMETOWN FIGHTS DON'T hap each time oregon everywhere. The opportunities originate much fluidly for fighters who hail from fashionable UFC destinations. Las Vegas has been the tract of much than 250 combat cards successful the promotion's 32-year history, acold much than anyplace else. The New York City metropolitan area, which reaches crossed the Hudson River to see Newark, New Jersey, has seen astir 2 twelve cards. London has had 16, Rio de Janeiro 12.

Rio was the mounting for unquestionably the astir iconic representation successful the past of hometown fights. It happened successful January 2012 astatine UFC 142, wherever the headliner was a champion successful his 3rd UFC bout -- but the archetypal successful his adopted location city. José Aldo was successful the midst of a decade-long winning streak that yet would scope 18 fights, establishing him arsenic a fable of the sport. When his genu to the chin of Chad Mendes knocked retired the featherweight challenger with 1 2nd near successful Round 1, the assemblage sound astatine HSBC Arena was deafening.

Feeling the moment, Aldo raced retired of the cage to beryllium with his people. He jumped implicit the cageside seats and headed consecutive into the euphoric, bouncing crowd, with UFC information successful blistery pursuit. The fans engulfed the champ, lifting him connected their shoulders and chanting his name. It was a chaotic, breathtaking country of unbridled joy.

"I deliberation this was a mode of giving backmost the affection they showed me," Aldo said backstage done a Portuguese interpreter. "That affirmative vigor was truthful good, truthful I tried to springiness them a triumph and tally to the crowd. I deliberation there's thing amended than being with them."

Aldo didn't get the nickname "The King of Rio" for nothing.

Some of the astir memorable hometown moments travel erstwhile the UFC visits a metropolis not connected its accustomed road-trip route, due to the fact that that tin mean the paper has been built astir a section leader the institution is backing. Perhaps the champion -- and loudest -- illustration was successful 2014, erstwhile the Octagon traveled to Dublin for conscionable the 2nd time. An Irish imaginable successful his 3rd UFC combat was the headliner astatine a raucous 3Arena, and afterward the athletics was ne'er the same.

McGregor said helium was going to decorativeness Diego Brandao successful the archetypal round, and helium did, overmuch to the delight of a legion of tricolor flag-waving supporters. Within a year, McGregor would beryllium interim featherweight champ and the biggest prima successful the UFC, but connected this nighttime aboriginal successful his Octagon career, McGregor's self-belief was already disconnected the charts. And helium linked that to his hometown spotlight.

"There's not a antheral live that tin travel connected this ungraded and bushed me," McGregor said successful the cage, drafting yet different roar.

Hometown fights ever make ramped-up vigor with star-making potential, adjacent erstwhile the section combatant is not the headliner. Of the UFC's 11 existent champions, six person fought successful oregon adjacent their location bases, though astir of those fights happened earlier their rubric reigns and mostly connected undercards.

There person been a mates of notable caller exceptions. Last month, Merab Dvalishvili defended his bantamweight rubric against Sean O'Malley successful the main lawsuit of UFC 316 successful Newark, a abbreviated region from wherever the champion trains connected Long Island, New York. And a twelvemonth ago, UFC 301 headliner Alexandre Pantoja retained his flyweight loop by beating Steve Erceg successful his hometown of Rio de Janeiro.

But portion warring astatine location tin beryllium a imagination scenario, immoderate fighters acquisition it arsenic a nightmare. The combat week regular tin beryllium thrown off. Distractions heap upon distractions. Everyone from distant household members to long-lost precocious schoolhouse classmates comes retired of the woodwork seeking escaped tickets. And connected combat night, everyone successful the arena is focusing connected you, you, you.

One vocal detractor of warring section is heavyweight Derrick Lewis, who has had 4 UFC fights astatine location successful Houston. He won the archetypal 2 but mislaid the others, with 1 of those defeats coming successful a 2021 combat with Ciryl Gane for the interim championship.

"I don't adjacent privation to acquisition that ever again," Lewis said connected "The MMA Hour" soon aft the Gane fight. "It was excessively overmuch pressure. Too much, to the constituent wherever I truly was calling radical up to fto maine get immoderate weed disconnected of them truthful I tin unbend my nerves during combat day."

That sentiment mightiness perplex fans accustomed to watching MMA warriors specified arsenic Lewis, the UFC's all-time person successful knockouts, bravely measurement into a cage again and again to bash battle. But conscionable arsenic antithetic athletes person antithetic accomplishment sets, they besides alteration successful their affectional makeup. For some, there's an overload of unease performing successful beforehand of a monolithic postulation of friends and household wrong the shadiness of their houses.

"It makes oregon breaks guys," Duke Roufus, caput manager astatine the Milwaukee gym Roufusport, told ESPN. "I person immoderate guys connected my squad that unrecorded for warring present successful town, and immoderate guys who accidental they'll ne'er combat astatine location again. They consciousness excessively overmuch pressure. But I judge successful warring astatine home, and I effort to get my guys to absorption connected each of the advantages. Like, it's truthful overmuch easier to slumber successful your ain bed."

If 1 of his fighters needs an other affectional push, Roufus suggests looking astatine the concern from the opponent's perspective.

"It's intimidating warring successful idiosyncratic else's hometown," Roufus said. "So I archer my guys, 'It's amended erstwhile you're warring successful beforehand of your people.' It brings thing retired of you."

Roufus knows from experience. He has been connected the "away team" much than erstwhile successful the UFC. He traveled with Jared Gordon successful 2019 to combat Charles Oliveira successful Sao Paulo, Oliveira's hometown, past accompanied Paul Felder to instrumentality connected Dan Hooker successful Auckland, New Zealand.

Before turning to coaching, helium was a multiple-time satellite champion successful kickboxing and besides competed successful boxing. Between the 2 sports, helium fought 11 times successful Milwaukee. He won each 11. "My dada utilized to beryllium successful the beforehand enactment astatine my fights," Roufus said. "He got maine started successful the sport. I wasn't losing successful beforehand of him. That was my attitude."

That's besides the cognition of Roufusport's prima fighter, erstwhile UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. He won the rubric successful 2013 by submitting Benson Henderson successful the main lawsuit of UFC 164 successful Milwaukee, the metropolis wherever helium was calved and raised. Before Pettis' infinitesimal successful the spotlight, helium got to ticker the prelim fights of 2 Roufusport teammates, Erik Koch and Chico Camus -- connected TV successful his surviving country astatine home. Pettis lived conscionable a 10-minute thrust from the Bradley Center.

"When it was clip for Anthony to beryllium astatine the arena," Roufus recalled, "he walked into the spot cooler than an crystal cube. He was acceptable to go."

Pressure? What pressure?

"The mode I look astatine it," Roufus said, "pressure is what makes diamonds."

Perhaps that adage volition bode good for this weekend's main lawsuit homeboy, Dustin Poirier. His nickname, aft all, is "The Diamond."