Buckley Threatens Poirier Over Racial Slur Feud

Joaquin Buckley has threatened Dustin Poirier over the former UFC champion's use of a racial slur during a public intoxication arrest at an Atlanta airport.

Buckley posted a video on his Instagram calling out Poirier for the racially charged language that surfaced in June 2026.

"Dustin Poirier don't f— with us," Buckley said in the video.

"Yeah, he'd like to be one of us. He likes it when he pulls up his little jeans and s— when he fights, he likes to scuff his little nose when he's doing s—. Wants to say, 'Yeah, I'm from Lafayette, I'm from Lafayette, I went to school with all the black folks.' Corny-a– m———–."

Buckley then escalated directly.

"I'm going to tell you all right now, for real, it can be like that, any person that got a problem with what I'm saying, especially you Dustin Poirier, if you really want to roll up and do something about it, I promise you this: In your words, it's gonna be bad for you. my n—-" Buckley continued.

"Pull up and do something."

BACKGROUND OF THE AIRPORT INCIDENT

Poirier retired after UFC 318 in 2025.

Less than a year later, in June 2026, he was arrested for public intoxication at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

During the arrest, Poirier threatened a responding police officer and used a racial slur.

Body camera footage of the incident went viral.

Poirier later addressed the incident publicly, apologized for his behavior, and thanked the officers involved for their handling of the situation.

He is scheduled to appear in court in the coming months and, if convicted, faces up to a year in prison.

POIRIER'S RESPONSE TO BUCKLEY

Poirier saw Buckley's video and responded in the comments.

"Tryna get some views? Shut up or kill me!" Poirier wrote.

Buckley replied to that comment directly.

"Not that long ago, that's what you wanted to do to yourself. Delete yourself. Remove yourself from the Earth. Don't put a charge on me," Buckley wrote.

"But I'll tell you this real quick. When I see you, let's have that conversation. Let's talk about it. And if you don't want to talk, [I won't talk] either, but you take the first swing. You take the first swing, but I promise you I'll get the first hit, though."

Buckley's response referenced Poirier's own public statements about struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts after retiring from the UFC.

THE MENTAL HEALTH DIMENSION

Poirier had spoken openly earlier in 2026 about being in a dark place after stepping away from fighting.

He said he needed a distraction to avoid chaos in his life.

Buckley directly challenged that narrative in his video.

"It all makes sense to me now. All that crying you was doing in them interviews, talking about, 'Man, I just need a distraction. If I don't have a good distraction, if I don't have something to focus on, I get into chaos,'" Buckley said.

"I start to do sh*t, certain stuff, and I get this dark side. All that shit was bullsh*t. All of it was."

"When you can't just be real and you can't just keep it 100. When you had that situation that occurred at that airport, it's a lot of you that came out that day and the frustration."

Buckley accused Poirier of appropriating aspects of Black culture in his public persona without standing by the community.

BUCKLEY'S UFC STATUS

Buckley is a welterweight who last fought at UFC Edmonton, where he lost to Mike Malott.

He has said he will fight one more time before retiring to fulfill a promise to his grandmother.