Dustin Poirier refuses to let MMA retire him.
After establishing himself as one of the most exciting and beloved fighters of the past 13 years, ‘The Diamond’ will lay down his gloves for good in his native New Orleans. But not before headlining one more pay-per-view event.
This Saturday, Poirier closes out both his career and his trilogy with former featherweight king Max Holloway in a BMF title clash at UFC 318.
At 36 years old, Poirier is still competing at the top of his game, most recently taking former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev into the fifth round before succumbing to a d’arce choke. But instead of allowing the sport to decide when it’s time to walk away, the former interim titleholder is taking fate into his own hands and choosing to retire while he still has plenty of fight left in him.
“I don’t want the sport to chew me up,” Poirier said during the UFC 318 media day. “I want to walk away—I don’t want it to retire me.”
“Anytime you saw my name on a fight card, you knew it was going to be a war. I hope people remember me as a warrior. I didn’t cut corners. I always gave it my all.”
Dustin Poirier can close out his career with a clean sweep of Max Holloway
With more than 30 UFC fights under his belt, Poirier has waged wars with some of the best in the business, including The Korean Zombie, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, and, of course, Conor McGregor.
He enters his retirement bout already 2-0 against Holloway, having beaten ‘Blessed’ via submission in 2012 and a unanimous decision in 2019.
