Dustin Poirier may have made his final walk to the Octagon at UFC 302 at the start of this month (June 1, 2024).
Unfortunately for “The Diamond,” UFC Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, was too much to overcome in his third attempt at becoming an undisputed champion. The bout was more competitive than some expected it to be, but in the end, Poirier succumbed to a fifth round d’arce choke (watch highlights).
It was speculated ad nauseam ahead of the bout whether or not it would be Poirier’s final fight of his thrilling 40-fight career (30-9, 1 no contest). Poirier admits he’d have hung up the gloves off a win, but now, he still isn’t 100 percent sure despite leaning towards still doing so.
“I still don’t know,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour. “I can’t say I’ll never fight again, but I just don’t know the reason. What am I going to fight for? To get into a battle? I love that, but I’ve taken some lumps over the years. It has to be for something. And maybe that’s something I’ll realize in the coming weeks, but I’m just taking it one day at a time.
“I’m leaning towards being done. For sure,” he continued. “Especially with getting the title fight, how many more times would I need to fight to put myself back in position to fight for the world title? I don’t know. And like I said, I’m not going to do it again, I’m not going to fight five more times to try and earn another title shot. I’m in a weird spot and I don’t know how to explain it or what decision to make. I’m just taking it day by day and seeing what comes with my mind changing and just to see how I feel.”
Although Poirier never earned the label of undisputed champion, he held interim Lightweight gold on one occasion and earned 10 Fight of the Night bonuses in his 31 UFC appearances.