Poirier Eyes Retirement With Win A Over Makhachev
Dustin Poirier could retire if he defeats Islam Makhachev on June 1 at UFC 302.
Poirier faces the UFC Lightweight Champion in search of his first world title. He held the UFC Interim Lightweight belt after beating Max Holloway in 2019 at UFC 236. His attempts at winning that full title failed. Losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 were tough for The Diamond to take.
Poirier also lost out on the BMF Belt, getting stopped by Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. However, he is coming off an impressive win. He stopped Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 in his last fight. A defeat for Gaethje against Holloway and a loss for Oliveira against Arman Tsarukyan put Poirier as the leading contender to dethrone Makhachev. If he does that, he could walk away from the UFC.
“It could be [my last fight], I haven’t made an official decision yet. But, it could be. I’ve said this over and over again, I still have a lot of tread left on the tires. I can beat these young guys, I just did it [against Saint-Denis]… It’s just like, how much do I want to give to this sport? Because you don’t ride for free. I don’t want to make any decisions just based on the way I’m feeling [right now]. I need to go out there and fight, like I said in Miami,” Poirier said
Reaction
I think he retires more so if he doesn’t win.
— Immortal (@thebringerx) May 2, 2024
If he does win, and he does retire, then there's zero wrong with it. Him being champion is more than enough for everything he's done in the UFC. His career is legendary. He's a future HOF inductee. The strap would cap his career off in style. 🫡
— Kieran J 💪 (@Jw95Kieran) May 2, 2024
That's a storybook ending. Beat Islam. Retire. And then let his teammate Gamrot fight Tsarukyan for the vacant title.
— Matvei Michkov's Burner (@DankSeltzer) May 2, 2024
He’s been saying this for more than a year, I just hope he doesn’t cause we all love Dustin. Hope he wins the strap!
— David Affif (@DavidAffif) May 2, 2024
idk why he would retire. he looked good in his last fight
— 🤠 (@gianhoncho) May 2, 2024