Former UFC champ Dustin Poirier admits he 'needs help' after bodycam footage of airport arrest emerges
Warning: This article contains offensive language which some readers may find distressing.
Former UFC champ Dustin Poirier has admitted he ‘needs help’ after shocking body cam footage of his recent arrest was shared online.
Poirier was arrested on Sunday 21 June at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for ‘public drunkenness’.
According to 11alive.com, Poirier attempted to board Delta Flight DL1295 to Fort Lauderdale on Father’s Day, but was denied boarding and the cops were called.
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Bodycam footage of the arrest was released on Tuesday 23 June, and showed 37-year-old Poirier becoming agitated and shouting at an airport official.
“Let’s go, big dog. Let’s go, big dog,” he shouts in the clip.
“What’s up? Buncha h**s. Let’s go. Let’s go. F***ing lying mother f****r.
"Yeah, pulled me off the plane, all my boys went to the f***ing crib. Now, what the f***?”
The officer then asked: “Are you Dustin Poirier?”
To which he replied: “Man, f*** you, bro."
Despite attempts to calm him down, Poirier continued to be irate and told the officer: “I’ll fight you right now.”
With the airport official telling him: “I don’t want to fight you.”
Poirier was eventually handcuffed and could be seen being walked out of the airport.
Following the incident, the MMA star was taken to Clayton County Jail on a misdemeanour charge of public drunkenness and was later released.
Shortly after his release Poirier wrote on Instagram: “Love you all, I'm working on myself.”
And has since shared a fuller statement, in which he admitted he ‘needs help’ as he struggles to get to grips with life after retiring from MMA last July.
“I’m at the point where I need some help, waking away from fighting hasn’t been easy on me and alcohol isn’t the answer,” he wrote.
“It has ruined my father’s life and I will not allow it to ruin mine, my family deserve me at 100%.
“I’m trying to do everything I can to get my mind right and take the right next steps.”
This isn’t the first time the former interim UFC lightweight champion has spoken about finding it difficult since quitting the sport.
Back in October, he was chatting to fans on Instagram, when one asked if he was missing MMA.
“Everyday, the moment my eyes open, I’ve done it for two decades and dedicated my life to it… A part of me has died” he admitted.
And just earlier this month, he told Full Send MMA: “I’m trying to navigate it bro. Some days I’m great, some days I’m not so good.
"If I’m not working towards something or trying to better my family I’m a danger to myself”
Claire Reid