Dustin Poirier isn’t done just yet.
In a parallel universe, UFC 302 in June could’ve been the perfect storybook championship ending for the future Hall of Famer’s career. Unfortunately for Poirier, UFC’s dominant lightweight champion Islam Makhachev exists in this universe and crushed those dreams with a fifth-round d’arce choke submission.
Whispers surrounding Poirier in the lead-up to his third undisputed UFC title shot was that, win or lose, UFC 302 could potentially serve as his retirement fight. Afterward, Poirier confirmed that a win over Makhachev to finally attain undisputed gold would have served as a definitive end to his run.
But even in defeat, Poirier (30-9, 1 NC) performed as valiantly as ever, proving he’s still an elite lightweight at age 35. That outcome made the notion of calling it quits even tougher for Poirier, and now, “The Diamond” made it clear Tuesday that we’ll see him make that walk at least once more.
“I will fight again,” Poirier said on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “It’s just how this thing unfolds — we’ll see when I do retire. It could be uno mas (one more), it could be dos mas (two more).
“I had a good meeting at the UFC headquarters. I was out there with Celsius at a trade show and I had a good meeting.
“There are some things verbally that we’ve spoke about that are looking promising, but I can’t share yet,” he added. “We’re close. First quarter of next year. It’s looking [like two more fights]. I haven’t signed anything, we’re just weighing out options and talking about timeframes. I love the chaos, so if a crazy fight is presented, I gotta do it.”
Proud of his roots, Poirier reps his Louisiana faithful on his sleeve wherever he goes to war around the globe. Should he have it his way, he’ll get his sendoff in a home game.
It’s been nearly a full decade since the UFC held an event in Poirier’s state. Taking place in New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center in June 2015, Poirier was a part of UFC Fight Night 68, an event that saw him fight Yancy Medeiros in front of his hometown faithful in his second fight back at lightweight. Poirier won the bout by putting away the notoriously durable Hawaiian with strikes in round one.
Name the city and Poirier will be there for a Louisiana return. Nothing is official on the UFC schedule just yet, but Poirier is supremely confident it’ll get done.
“My goal is to get an event here in Louisiana,” Poirier said. “Whether that’s Lafayette, New Orleans — I want to lay the gloves down where I started fighting. That is my goal. Just [depends on] opponent availability and when makes sense.
“I’m about 95 percent sure that we get this done. It’s just, for me, on my part, do I fight before that? Because the longer I’m away from the sport, I just feel removed and I’m not with everything, not training every single day. I might train three times a week, I’m always staying in shape. But just technique and fundamentals and things, you have to be on the mats every day. I don’t want to wait until summer or end of next year before they can come back to Louisiana. So, maybe I need a fight before then just to stay in the mix, stay fresh, so I can retire how I want to be — on top.”
Ideally, Poirier doesn’t want to wait around and drag out his career’s end. He’s set on the idea of closing out his illustrious MMA run where it began and will gladly do so sooner, if possible. If not, then a war in between is welcomed.
But who are the likeliest options?
“Nowadays, everybody in the UFC is dangerous,” Poirier said. “I’m not asking for a favorable fight. I want the hardest guys I can get. I was asking for [Justin] Gaethje, asking for [Dan] Hooker. I want hard fights. I’m not trying to not get beat up. I want to fight. It’s just the availability and the timeframe. We’ll see.”
Poirier physically took a notable amount of damage in his Makhachev loss. Among the list of injuries he suffered, the former interim lightweight titleholder entered the bout with a banged-up rib and left with a partially torn ACL as well as a broken nose.
Aside from being unable to breathe out of his nose, Poirier said he’s all healed up and ready to go whenever.
Poirier mentioned Gaethje’s name first when overlooking his options — the two are currently tied at one apiece in their two-fight series, with Gaethje winning their most recent meeting. Poirier said a rematch of his June 2020 unanimous decision over Hooker also draws intrigue, especially after the Kiwi’s recent resurgence. Then there’s always the one that got away: A welterweight duel against Nate Diaz.
There’s also Conor McGregor, who needs a possible return opponent after Michael Chandler moved on.
Poirier isn’t sold on “The Notorious” returning. Period. For him, there’s not much left there anyway after winning their last two encounters with stoppages. That doesn’t mean their rivalry is dead, however.
At a recent signing for Celsius at a Las Vegas convention, Poirier recalled walking over to his booth to meet fans. McGregor was also in attendance, however, and wound up behind him before Poirier’s agent sneakily guided “The Diamond” away from their targeted destination.
Had his agent not been there, a “big problem” would’ve been afoot, Poirier said.
“We just have such a long history,” Poirier noted of McGregor. “He said some foul things. You ever watch ‘Family Guy?’ You know when Peter [Griffin] and the chicken run into each other? They freaking go on this crazy fight, they’re falling down hills, fighting for an hour. That’s what would have happened.
“Once my guy walked us away and told me what just happened and why we had to take that short right, I was like, ‘If we would have made eye contact, if our eyes would have met, it would have been bad.'”
