Cody Garbrandt opened up in Las Vegas about Dustin Poirier's recent arrest and the wider challenges fighters face when their careers end, as he prepares to meet Adrian Yanez at UFC 329 on Saturday.
Poirier was arrested for public drunkenness at an airport two weeks before the interview, after retiring from MMA earlier in the year, and has previously spoken about struggling to adapt to life after fighting.
Garbrandt, a former UFC champion now 35 years old, admitted he is also thinking about the end of his own career. "I don't know how many years I have left in the sport, but I pray that God lets me stay healthy, intact, and I can leave on my own terms," he said.
He used Poirier's situation to highlight what he sees as a broader issue for fighters post-retirement. "I think a lot of fighters don't get that opportunity. They have to fight because they need the money. They have to fight injured. It's tough. You see them walk away and the detriment that it does getting released back into the wild. Like, man, you're not going to have that adrenaline, something to look forward to, so it's tough. I just pray that a lot of these fighters stacked their money, get plans for after. I wish the UFC did a little more in helping us out with that: healthcare, insurance, 401K."
Garbrandt was visibly moved when speaking directly about Poirier. "I feel for Dustin. I get choked up just thinking about it because he's such a good dude," he said, later adding, "People are just ridiculing him in the media for one slip up he had. This dude has done so many amazing things inside the sport, outside the sport... He had one little mistake."
