Dustin Poirier hasn’t made a decision about his future, but he’s definitely leaning one way over the other.
Stepping into the main event spotlight at UFC 302 for his third and final shot at lightweight gold, ‘The Diamond’ came up short once again, succumbing to a darce choke in the fifth round against reigning world champion Islam Makhachev.
Immediately following the fight, Poirier suggested that his retirement was imminent, though he did leave the door cracked open for a potential return.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Poirier revealed that he has not fully decided yet. However, he admitted to “leaning towards being done.”
“I still don’t know,” Poirier said on Monday. “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. 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” (h/t MMA Fighting).
Dustin Poirier still hasn’t decided whether or not he’s retiring, but he’s leaning towards “being done”
@arielhelwani #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/LM6s2PVLrs
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 10, 2024
Dustin Poirier proved he can still hang with the best
Despite the loss to Makhachev, Dustin Poirier looked as good as ever, even sitting dead even with the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ on one judge’s scorecards going into the final five. Even at 35 years old, Poirier clearly has plenty left in the tank when it comes to competing with the best of the best.
As it stands, that’s the only thing keeping him from closing the book on his iconic career.
“The only thing that makes me not want to walk away is because I know I can still compete with these guys and I feel like I’m still getting better,” Poirier said. “It’s not like I’m slowing down that much or age is catching up with me. My reaction time is still good, I feel good, and I know I can beat these guys. And say I do leave, a year from now, it might not be the same if I ever try to come back.
“I’m scared to miss what I have left to give, but also I don’t want to give too much of myself. … I want to give more because I know that I have a short window to give the best of myself, but also I’ve given so much of myself to the sport for so long, it’s just, where do I draw the line? That’s a battle I have to figure out with myself.”