Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight was more than 11 months ago, but the former UFC champion was ready to duke it out with an Atlanta Police Department officer before he was arrested on Sunday.
APD says Poirier was charged with public intoxication after being denied boarding on a Delta flight. He also yelled profanities at the airline staff and threatened to fight an officer, according to a statement from the agency.
Neither Poirier nor his representation responded to requests for comment on Tuesday. Delta didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
According to the APD’s press release, officers responded to a dispute at a Delta gate involving “an intoxicated male passenger who had been denied boarding.”
The officer’s body-worn camera footage, included in the release, shows Poirier shouting profanities at the Delta staff, who said such behavior was why he was not allowed on the plane in the first place.
Poirier then told the responding officer, “I’ll fight you right now.”
The officer turned down the challenge, and Poirier taunted him as he called for backup.
The video also shows the officer present a Taser as he tried to keep the situation from becoming physical.
Poirier was arrested without incident by two other officers about 10 minutes after the initial officer responded to the scene, according to the timestamps on APD’s footage.
Retired UFC fighter Ben Askren posted a video Monday afternoon showing Poirier wrestle a friend of his outside of a bar, saying Poirier “was having a good time at the airport.”
It’s not clear when the video was filmed. Askren did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
APD says Poirier was taken to Clayton County Jail and has since bonded out.
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