Dustin Poirier is keeping the tradition of aligning his UFC fights with a charity goal.
Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) competes in one of the biggest fights of his career Jan. 23 when he rematches Conor McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a high-stakes lightweight bout at UFC 257, which takes place on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
With a big fight comes a big goal for Poirier’s The Good Fight Foundation, which has done numerous acts of good will in recent years centered around and outside of Poirier’s fights.
The upcoming goal is significant, as the foundation is teaming up with The Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana to “help bridge the gap in academic success by providing transportation and tutoring” in what is called “Project Learn.”
Poirier revealed additional details in a video announcement on Tuesday (via Twitter):
Happy Holidays!
We are excited to announce that for our next goal we will be teaming up with The Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana! We want to help bridge the gap in academic success by providing transportation & tutoring for all 6 of their locations in 2021! https://t.co/EDUDwdMTlm pic.twitter.com/P0iwPkgZaX— The Good Fight Foundation (@TheGoodFightFDN) December 22, 2020
“The pandemic has been tough on all of us,” Poirier said. “Our kids are not excluded from that. Schooling has been crazy. It’s been tough times for everyone. We want to team up with The Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana and their six locations and get behind their ‘Project Learn’ initiative, fighting tutors for the year of 2021 to help the children academically and also transportation for the year of 2021 to get the kids back home safe and sound. These are our children, this is our future. Let’s fight the good fight.”
In the past, charity goals around Poirier’s fights have included building water wells to repair a ruined water supply at an orphanage and school in Uganda, building a playground for special needs children, supplying backpacks for more than 500 schoolchildren, and more.
Poirier typically auctions off his fight-worn gear to raise money for his charity, as well.
In addition, Poirier’s upcoming opponent McGregor has publicly pledged to contribute $500,000 to his charity. Poirier told MMA Junkie in November that he intends on using that money to help build an MMA gym for struggling youth with membership fees covered in exchange for good conduct and dedication to school work.
Poirier’s efforts have not gone unnoticed in the MMA community. Prior to his most recent win over Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN 12 in June, Poirier was honored with the inaugural “Forrest Griffin Community Award” to acknowledge his work.
More information on Poirier’s charity, as well as a donation link, can be found at TheGoodFightGroup.com.