Dustin Poirier named first-ever winner of Forrest Griffin Community Award

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has been named as the recipient of the first-ever Forrest Griffin Community Award presented by Toyo Tires.

The UFC made the announcement on Friday, the day before Poirier fights Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC on ESPN 12. Check out the announcement via Twitter.

OFFICIAL: @DustinPoirier named inaugural recipient of @ForrestGriffin Community Award presented by @ToyoTires.

🏆 #UFCHonors pic.twitter.com/aMw9gBM6ee

— UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2020

According to a press release from the UFC, “the award will recognize a UFC athlete for their exceptional volunteer and charity work and the meaningful impact their efforts have on the community.” Poirier and his wife Jolie established The Good Fight Foundation in 2018 and have been involved in numerous other charitable initiatives in his home state of Louisiana. He also routinely auctions his Fight Kits for money for charity. Poirier winning the award will see him receive a $25,000 donation to the charity of his choice courtesy of Toyo Tires.

UFC president Dana White hand-picked Poirier as the winner of the award, and provided the following statement.

“Dustin is a great athlete, but more importantly he’s a great human being. He is a kid who works hard and is passionate about giving back to not only his community but to those who are less fortunate,” White said.

Poirier also provided a statement in the press release about what winning the award means to him.

“I’m just grateful for the things we have accomplished with the foundation, the way it’s growing, and the support and people getting behind it. It’s amazing that when you do something from the heart, something that means something to you and you do it the right way, all the right things fall into place. These things are forced they are just happening,” Poirier said.

According to the press release, the UFC will honor Poirier and the other winners of the UFC awards at a ceremony later this year. Typically these awards, including the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony, come during the UFC’s International Fight Week in July, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, that ceremony was postponed until a later date.

UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin, who the award was named after, also congratulated Poirier on his win.

“I’m so happy people like him are in the sport. He’s such a good person and such a good representative of the sport. As he looks back in his life this is something he can reflect on and be proud of. I couldn’t ask for a better spokesperson and leader to start off the award’s legacy,” Griffin said.

We here at BJPenn.com would like to congratulate Dustin Poirier on winning the Forrest Griffin Community Award.