Brett Okamoto
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- Brett Okamoto has covered mixed martial arts and boxing for ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and reporting with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He also produced the film 30 for 30: Chuck & Tito, which chronicled the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas and is an avid below-average golfer in his spare time.
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Former UFC star Dustin Poirier says his father’s problems with alcoholism and his own ongoing struggles with life in retirement contributed to his arrest for public intoxication last month in Atlanta.
Poirier, 37, was arrested at the airport two weeks ago and charged with public drunkenness after he aggressively confronted several employees. The arrest happened on Father’s Day, which Poirier said was not a coincidence.
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“(My father) went to jail many times for alcohol-related things.” Poirier spoke on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast. “He’s actually homeless now. I was partially drunk at the airport – and it’s not my weight – but I tried to help him, and he’s back on the street. On Father’s Day, I was driving to work and I just couldn’t stop thinking about my dad. I started drinking at the airport and that led to the incident.”
Poirier also admitted that it was difficult for him to cope with leaving mixed martial arts. The former interim lightweight champion retired from the UFC last July in his home state of Louisiana. This ended a 16-year professional career.
“I was just a kid chasing a dream, it went by so fast,” Poirier said. “I was scared for the future. I’ve dreamed for twenty years of being the best. I just want to dream again. I don’t know what it will be. I just need it in my life, whatever it is. I still love it. I know I have to keep moving on from it. Those gloves, you put them on the mat, that’s a part of me that I left behind. I truly believe that.”
Poirier said he did not watch police body camera footage of the incident, which showed him trying to provoke an altercation with the police officer and his arrest. According to him, the full consequences of the incident are yet to be clarified.
“One major sponsor is no longer a sponsor,” Poirier said. “I’m sure I lost a few. I’m waiting for the smoke to clear to see who else is with me or not. This day not only cost me embarrassment and embarrassment for my family, it also cost me a lot of money. I’m losing sponsors. I’m losing gigs. I’m losing things I organized.”