Dustin Poirier was honored as the recipient of the first-ever Forrest Griffin Community Award, presented by Toyo Tires. The award was announced following the UFC Vegas 4 weigh-ins and was named in honor of UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin.
Poirier is recognized for his exceptional contributions towards humanity through volunteer and charity work. The Forrest Griffin Community Award will be presented annually as part of the UFC Honors President’s Choice category and the recipient will be personally selected by UFC President, Dana White. Dustin will also receive a donation of $25,000 as a courtesy of Toyo Tires towards the charity of his choice.
I’m just grateful for the things we have accomplished with the foundation, the way it’s growing, and the support and people getting behind it. It’s amazing that when you do something from the heart, something that means something to you and you do it the right way, all the right things fall into place. These things are forced they are just happening.
Dustin Poirier
Dustin and his wife, Jolie, established The Good Fight Foundation, with the mission of being committed to helping those in need and to fighting to change the world by doing positive things in the community.
Throughout the first two years of the foundation’s existence, the Poiriers have launched a series of initiatives and has also utilized his fight-worn UFC Fight Kits, auctioning off his inventory of apparel to raise donations for families of fallen law enforcement officers, and building a local playground for Aaron Hill, a terminally ill seven-year-old of Lafayette.
I’m so happy people like him are in the sport. He’s such a good person and such a good representative of the sport. As he looks back in his life this is something he can reflect on and be proud of. I couldn’t ask for a better spokesperson and leader to start off the award’s legacy.
UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin
Following his most recent fight in September 2019 against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi, Nurmagomedov and Poirier each auctioned off their UFC Legacy Series Walkout Jerseys, raising more than $100,000 with a direct match from UFC, totaling $200,000 donated directly to the foundation.
Poirier and his foundation also partnered with former UFC heavyweight Justin Wren’s “Fight For The Forgotten” organization. As part of this joint partnership, Poirier and Wren were able to use the funds raised and the platform to combat the water crisis in Uganda. During the campaign, they exceeded their fundraising goal of purchasing new water wells, and also secured 43.21 acres of land and solar-powered water well to create a more self-sustainable living environment for the Batwa Pygmy Tribe.
This year, Dustin and his team have stayed active in the community with relief efforts associated with COVID-19 by donating more than 1,000 meals to frontline healthcare workers at local hospitals and clinics. Dustin also hopes that The Good Fight Foundation can be a resource for other athletes looking to pursue charitable work in their communities.
If they don’t have the stuff to do it, we can run their stuff and we can auction off through The Good Fight and we would love to help them put together things that mean something to them in their local communities. I’d love to give this foundation branches to work with as many athletes as possible to see how many people we can help because that is what it is all about.
Dustin Poirier
Currently ranked no. 3 in the lightweight division, Dustin is a veteran of 32 fights and has compiled a record of 25-6, 1 NC (18-6, 1 NC UFC) while competing in both the featherweight and lightweight divisions since his debut in 2009.
