Dustin Poirier apologizes for airport arrest, hasn't watched video

Dustin Poirier has apologized for his behavior during a Father's Day arrest at the Atlanta airport but says he still refuses to watch the body cam video that went viral.

The former UFC interim lightweight champion was arrested for public drunkenness on June 15, and footage later released showed Poirier acting erratic and threatening a police officer before eventually cooperating. In his first interview since the incident, Poirier told The Diary of a CEO podcast that he believes a desk agent denied him boarding after noticing his intoxication, according to MMA Fighting.

Poirier seeks to thank arresting officer

"I do want to apologize to those desk agents, whoever they are, and the police for having to put up with me, man," Poirier said. He added that he asked an Atlanta attorney to get the officer's contact information so he could personally thank him. "Just to tell him how great of a job he did dealing with a person in that condition, and how professional he was. He was incredible. It could've been so much worse."

Poirier explained that the arrest happened while he was traveling for work and couldn't stop thinking about his estranged father, who he described as homeless and dealing with longstanding alcohol issues. He started drinking at the airport, which led to the confrontation. The retired fighter has been in therapy for years and acknowledged that alcohol has never benefited him during difficult mental periods.

As for the footage itself, Poirier says his wife and a friend watched it, but he has pieced together what happened without viewing it himself. "To see myself in that condition, disrespecting police officers, disrespecting workers at the airport disrespecting myself, disrespecting my family, I just don't feel like it's going to benefit me to see that," he said. Poirier has not yet had his first court appearance. In Georgia, public drunkenness carries a potential sentence of up to one year in jail or a fine up to one thousand dollars.

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Dustin Poirier issues apologies for behavior during airport scene, says he hasn’t seen arrest video | MMA Fighting