Poirier: Personal struggles led to drinking, arres...

Former UFC star Dustin Poirier says his father's issues with alcoholism and his own ongoing struggles with retired life contributed to his arrest for public drunkenness last month in Atlanta. Poirier, 37, was arrested at the airport two weeks ago and charged with public drunkenness after he aggressively confronted multiple employees. The arrest happened on Father's Day, which Poirier says wasn't a coincidence. "[My father] has been in jail plenty of times for alcohol-related stuff." Poirier told The Diary of a CEO. "He's actually homeless right now. Part of that, me getting drunk at the airport -- and it's not my weight to carry -- but I tried to help him, and he's back on the street. On Father's Day, I was traveling to work and I just couldn't stop thinking about my father. I started drinking at the airport and that's what led to the incident." Poirier also admitted he's struggled with his retirement from mixed martial arts. The former interim lightweight champion retired from the UFC last July, in his home state of Louisiana. It brought an end to a 16-year professional career. "I was just a kid chasing a dream, it flew by so quickly," Poirier said. "I was scared for the future. Twenty years, I was dreaming about being the best. I just want to dream again. I don't know what that will be. I just need that in my life, whatever that is. I still love it. I know I need to continue walking away from it. Those gloves, you put them on the mat, that's a piece of myself I left. I truly believe that." Poirier said he hasn't watched police bodycam footage of the incident, which showed him attempting to provoke an altercation with an officer, as well as his arrest. He said the complete fallout of the incident is still to be determined. "One big [sponsor] isn't a sponsor anymore," Poirier said. "I'm sure I've lost a few. I'm waiting to see when the smoke clears who's still with me or not. That day cost me not only embarrassment and embarrassment to my family, it cost me a lot of money, too. I'm losing sponsors. I'm losing gigs. I'm losing things that I had set up."