Dustin Poirier Debunks Retirement Rumors: ‘Can’t Leave This Sport on a Loss’

Dustin Poirier has postponed his decision to retire and is currently looking forward to his next UFC fight. The Louisiana native appeared on the latest episode of Jon Anik’s YouTube podcast, ‘The Anik and Florian Podcast’, where he disclosed that he doesn’t want to exit the UFC on a loss. The fact that Poirier has never lost two fights in a row has emboldened his spirits to pick up another victory in his next fight and then bid his final goodbye, if at all.

Poirier may have presented incredible resistance during his last encounter against Islam Makahchev at UFC 302. Yet, despite his best efforts, the Dagestani emerged victorious. Before the fight, ‘The Diamond’ had implied that his UFC 302 fight could be his last in-octagon encounter.

Now, it seems that retirement was only on the cards if the Lafayette native could have walked away with a win. In fact, this is exactly why he wants at least one more fight in the UFC, as he said,

“After the Islam fight [UFC 302], I thought maybe this is it. Then a few weeks went by and the injuries started hurting lesser. So, I was like, ‘I gotta do this again’. I’ve never lost two in a row. I can’t leave the sport on a loss.”

At the same time, ‘The Diamond’ has also been pretty clear about having enough regular fights in his over-a-decade-old pro-MMA career. It’s quite apparent that he won’t be stepping into the octagon for “just another fight” unless there’s a lucrative deal associated with it.

Poirier wants nothing except a big-money fight against one of the top-tier UFC stars

Initially, Poirier tried to get another shot at Makhachev’s lightweight gold by dangling the idea of a rematch in front of him. However, the 32-year-old Dagestani remained unmoved and calmly turned down ‘The Diamond’s’ offer.

Nevertheless, a few hours back, ‘ESPN MMA’ came up with a list of several noteworthy UFC stars, whom Poirier saw as potential rivals for his next fight. Looking at the ones the Lafayette native chose, it can be safely said that he now wants to go for big-money fights against the top names in the promotion. ESPN MMA even shared the list as a Tweet, which read,

“Dustin Poirier says these could be potential opponents in his next fight:

• Nate Diaz

• Conor McGregor

• Alexander Volkanovski

• Justin Gaethje

• Max Holloway

• Charles Oliveira

• Colby Covington “

Currently, it’s quite impossible to say which of these fighters will appear as Poirier’s next in-octagon rival. Still, some of these stars might be interested since The Diamond’s fights generally draw a lot of eyeballs.

Poirier might even have plans to retire soon after that. Yet, as of now, fans are awaiting his next encounter pretty eagerly.