Dustin Poirier Ready to Keep Moving Forward - With Eye on "Korean Zombie"

DUSTIN POIRIER READY TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD – WITH EYE ON 'KOREAN ZOMBIE'
BY MATT ERICKSON ON DEC 17, 2012 AT 5:50 PM ET

Dustin Poirier was more than happy to get back in the win column on Saturday night.

It was his first fight since leaving his lifelong Louisiana home and relocating to South Florida and a new training base with American Top Team. The fresh start with a win right out of the gate was just what the doctor ordered.

But even though his submission win against Jonathan Brookins (13-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at the TUF 16 Finale was a big one, Poirier (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) still is haunted by the loss he suffered in May.

Poirier headlined UFC on FUEL TV 3 against Chan Sung Jung – "The Korean Zombie" – and he had to tap in the fourth round to his own favorite submission, a D'Arce choke.

So getting a poetic D'Arce stoppage against Brookins on Saturday was great. But it didn't take away the memory of the Zombie loss.

"I'm never going to be over that loss," Poirier told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "Every time I step in the cage and they show my record, one of my losses is to him. And it hurts to have that. I'll never get that back. But I'm growing from it. It was a fight where I learned a lot and I'm going to keep getting better, put another win streak together and climb my way back."

That climb started with Brookins. It was a fun fight that had both featherweights swinging for the fences in the first round until Poirier finally was able to take advantage and get the finish.

Poirier said he was a little surprised with how things played out in the fight, but that he came in prepared for anything.

"We came out banging, and it was fast-paced from the start," he said. "But after a couple minutes, I found my range and I think it was going to be really hard for him to keep throwing punches with me for 15 minutes, and I think it showed. He started fading a little bit.

"I was prepared for everything that happened in that fight. I went into there thinking I was going to hit him with some big shots and hurt him and finish him on the feet. But I'm a mixed martial artist and I train everything. If there's an opening, I'm going to finish the fight, and that's what happened."

And he owes some of that preparedness to the move to American Top Team.

"In my training camp at American Top Team, we worked at getting my back off the fence and not clinching with him because he has a really good lateral drop," Poirier said. "I've been a purple belt for a while, and now that I'm at American Top Team, I'm surrounded by so many black belts on the mat at all times, so many great jiu-jitsu guys. You've got to protect your neck over there."

Poirier, of course, will take whoever the UFC wants to give him for his next fight. But he said as a year-round fighter, he'll be training regardless.

And it sounds like he'll always have one eye on Jung, hoping to prove at least to himself that his loss that night was an anomaly.

"That fight, in the back, I felt something I'd never felt before," he said. "I just wanted to get it over with. I felt a lot of pressure for some reason. I felt really weird, and usually I'm anxious to get in there and perform. I want to showcase my skills. That fight, I just wanted to get in there and get out of there, and I think it showed. But if we fought again, I definitely think I can win that fight.

"He's young, I'm young, and we're on a collision course. We're going to fight again, there's no doubt about that."

And if that rematch with the Zombie happens to come sooner rather than later? Well, that would work, too.

"I'm excited to find out who I'm fighting next and start up another camp. Whenever they call, I'll go to work. Whoever they want me to fight, I'll fight," he said. "But I'm always down to fight 'The Korean Zombie' again. I'm not saying I want that fight next, but whenever they want an exciting fight to happen, they can book that fight."