Dustin Poirier Fires Back As Joaquin Buckley’s Confrontation With Sean Strickland Escalates

After Buckley made his issues with the UFC veteran public, “The Diamond” has responded, adding another unexpected layer to a rivalry that has been quietly building in the background. And with Buckley also caught up in a heated confrontation with Sean Strickland, things are getting increasingly interesting.

Joaquin Buckley Takes Aim at Dustin Poirier 

“The Diamond” is back in the headlines, despite having no fight scheduled. The Louisiana native hardly needed a fight to attract attention in June, either, when an altercation at Atlanta International Airport led to his arrest for public intoxication.  The footage quickly went viral, with Poirier seen challenging an officer and using a racial slur. 

Although he later addressed the incident publicly, apologized for his behavior, and thanked the officers involved for their handling of the situation, the controversy has found its way back into the conversation. 

This time, UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley has taken aim at the former lightweight champion, with heavyweight prospect Josh Hokit seemingly becoming the unlikely link between the two.

Poirier recently praised Hokit’s promotional work on the Deep Waters podcast, describing the heavyweight’s efforts as a “crushing job.” Buckley took issue with that endorsement and used it as an opportunity to revisit the airport incident, questioning Poirier’s explanation of what led to his behavior that day.

The 32-year-old did not hold back in his video response. He questioned Poirier’s account of struggling with retirement and needing something to focus on, suggesting that the former champion’s explanation for his behavior at the airport was not genuine.

“It all makes sense to me now. All that crying you was doing in them interviews, talking about, ‘Man, I just need a distraction. If I don’t have a good distraction, if I don’t have something to focus on, I get into chaos,” he said. “I start to do sh*t, certain stuff, and I get this dark side. All that shit was bullsh*t. All of it was."

“When you can’t just be real and you can’t just keep it 100. When you had that situation that occurred at that airport, it’s a lot of you that came out that day and the frustrations that you had, and it ain’t had nothing to do with missing a flight because you easily could have just booked another.” 

Joaquin Buckley on Dustin Poirier

Poirier had spoken openly about the difficulties of adjusting to life after retirement, including his struggles with alcohol. Buckley, however, dismissed that explanation and returned to the footage from Atlanta.

He particularly took issue with Poirier’s language toward the women present during the confrontation and the way he addressed the responding officers. “New Mansa” argued that Poirier's attitude changed when another officer arrived, accusing him of directing his aggression toward someone he believed he could intimidate.

Buckley went further, saying, “Now look, I understand if you’re upset, but why the black ladies got to be some h** and sh*t?” Buckley said. “‘F**k these hos, f**k these h**.’ And then the only dude that was in there and that’s trying to give you mercy and grace, because I ain’t going to lie to you, I would tase your a**.”

“I would have had you looking all crazy, going viral for the wrong sh*t. ‘It’s gonna be bad for you my n***a.’ And the dude showed you grace, because he’s like, ‘No, I don’t want no smoke with you. Like, I understand your frustrations, I don’t want no problem.’”

But the criticism did not stop with the airport footage. Poirier’s praise for Hokit’s promotional efforts appeared to be another major source of frustration. Buckley has taken issue with Hokit’s provocative public persona and accused Poirier of supporting behavior he considers offensive. 

He also questioned Poirier’s relationship with Black culture, accusing the former champion of embracing aspects of it without standing up for the community.

Poirier Claps Back

Buckley’s comments eventually turned into a direct challenge. He invited Poirier to confront him in person, making it clear that he was prepared to take the disagreement beyond social media.

Poirier did not initially respond with a lengthy explanation. Instead, he left a blunt comment under Buckley’s post: “Tryna get some views? Shut up or kill me!” The one-liner blew up with followers and fans liking it before turning it into a lengthy thread. 

That was enough to prompt another response from Buckley, who questioned what Poirier actually meant by the remark. He also brought up the former champion’s previous disclosures about his mental health struggles, making an especially personal reference to Poirier’s past suicidal thoughts.

Buckley then reiterated his desire to meet Poirier face-to-face, telling him to throw the first punch if the two ever crossed paths. As of now, Poirier has not publicly responded to that latest video in the material available here, leaving the exchange unresolved.

Buckley Brings Sean Strickland Into the Conversation

Poirier wasn't the only UFC name Buckley addressed. When fans questioned why he was going after the retired lightweight rather than the active middleweight champion, whose own controversial remarks have repeatedly attracted criticism, Buckley had a response ready.

Rather than simply dismissing the comparison, he shared footage of a recent verbal confrontation involving Strickland, Buckley and an associate.

The exchange appeared to stem from Strickland’s use of a racial slur at a recent Brandrisk Promotions event. Buckley’s associate confronted the former middleweight champion over the language, warning him that fighters need to be careful about what they say when they have a public platform.

Buckley later explained his own position in a social media caption, insisting that he approaches everyone with the same attitude and does not make exceptions based on a fighter’s standing in the UFC. “We saw Strickland and I approached him, and I let him know I know what he's doing, but these platforms you got to be careful what you say at all times,” Buckley wrote.

He added that he approaches everyone with the same attitude, claiming that people often avoid confronting him directly. Strickland, meanwhile, did not let the footage pass without a response. The middleweight shared a clip of himself dropping Buckley during a sparring session, adding another layer to an already heated exchange, after dropping a sly dig in the comment section: "No stereotypes were harmed in making this video... lmao!!!"