Dustin Poirier plans on still fighting despite the outcome of his lightweight title fight with champion Charles Oliveira this weekend at UFC 269. That is music to the ears of fight fans everywhere considering “Diamond” has hinted at potential retirement in the past.
Luckily, Poirier plans to continue his UFC career beyond 2021. As someone who has been perched atop the toughest division in MMA for years “Diamond” is simply looking to decrease the number of times he enters the cage. Unlike other fighters who push their bodies until the wheels fall off Poirier is hoping to escape the fight game with everything in tact.
“I see a lot of fighters try to get every last drop out of their careers and leave a lot of themselves out there. I don’t want to do that,” Poirier told Bisping during a recent interview for BT Sport. “I’ve been fighting a long time. I had my first fight at 18 years old.”
“I don’t think I’m going anywhere. I think I might fight less frequent. I just love fighting, it’s who I am. Win, lose or draw Saturday night, I’m not gonna be fighting three times a year, moving forward.”
Poirier, who turns 33 in January, will be fighting for the third time this year when he meets Oliveira for the lightweight title at UFC 269 in Las Vegas. His other two Octagon appearances came against rival and fellow lightweight contender Conor McGregor. Poirier ended up knocking McGregor out in their rematch at UFC 257 this past January and then he defeated “Notorious” again via TKO at UFC 264 in their trilogy fight. McGregor did snap his leg in that matchup, but Poirier was in control of the action before the shit hit the fan.
Needless to say, there’s still unfinished business between Poirier and McGregor. It’s too early to tell when or even if the fourth fight will ever take place, but Poirier has no issue acknowledging his undying feud with McGregor and eventually running things back.
“We can fight five more times, I don’t think it’s ever gonna be settled. It’s just one of those rivalries that’s gonna be forever.”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 269 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.