'Destiny doesn't make mistakes' -- Dustin Poirier is on the cusp of finishing his UFC story - ESPN

IN 'FIGHTVILLE,' THE documentary about the Louisiana MMA scene filmed in 2009, a then-20-year-old Dustin Poirier stares into the camera and states in no uncertain terms that he will be the best 155-pound fighter in the world.

For a high school dropout from Lafayette, Louisiana, who had fought mostly only fellow Cajuns in dingy rodeo arenas to that point, the idea of not only making it to the biggest MMA promotion but also being recognized as one of the best in the world sounded completely irrational.

«Very few men will actually walk the aisles and get into that combat arena,» Gil Guillory, founder of the Louisiana-based fighting promotion USA-MMA that Poirier competed for early in his career, said in the film. «And very few men will do it 20-30 times. Most of these guys that fight, they will never fight again.»

Sure enough, just about every fighter featured in the documentary has since washed out of the sport. Poirier (30-8) is not only still around, but the 35-year-old is preparing for one more chance at being the best lightweight in the world when he faces UFC champion Islam Makhachev (25-1) at UFC 302 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET).

«I think I'm knocking on the door,» Poirier told ESPN about his ongoing aspiration to be the lightweight champion. «If I win this undisputed belt on June 1, you can stack my résumé against any other 155-pound fighter in the world. I think I'm close to being the greatest.»

That résumé includes almost everything Poirier set out to accomplish nearly 20 years ago. Poirier is the only person to beat Conor McGregor twice and has had a career littered with fights against former world champions and fighters who have routinely hovered