Dustin Poirier aka, ‘The Diamond’, has been at the pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts for the better part of the last decade. He has also been the Interim Lightweight Champion of the UFC and his most recent fight was against Islam Makhachev for the UFC 155lbs championship. The bout between Makhachev and Poirier was everything the fans were hoping for and more as the two took the fight to the fifth round with both fighters suffering equally throughout the fight.
But in the 5th round, Islam Makhachev put Dustin Poirier in a D’Arce Choke to submit the American and retain his UFC Title for the 3rd time. Now 4 months after UFC 302 Dustin Poirier who everyone knows is close to hanging up his gloves for the last time in the UFC, has opened up about his retirement plans. According to the man himself, his next bout won’t be his last outing in the octagon and he has named two high-profile fighters, as opponents he wants to fight once again before he retires from the UFC.
In a recent Interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Dustin Poirier said, “Could be uno mas, could be dos mas.” Implying further about his upcoming two fights, Poirier continued, “My goal is to get an event here in Louisiana. Maybe New Orleans…that’s my goal…I’m not asking for a favourable fight, I wanted the hardest fights I can get. I asked for Justin Gaethje, I asked for [Dan] Hooker…I’m healed up. I did a bunch of therapy sessions on my knee…my nose, I can’t breathe, but everything else is good…”
“To be completely content: I’d love to lay my gloves down at home and never fight again. Finish here in front of my Louisiana friends and family, the people who have been supporting me since I was 17 years old through fighting, and to go out on top. To show I’m leaving, but I still have it, that’s important to me too…I want to beat these guys, have tough fights, and walk away on top like ‘This guy left when he was still on top of his game’. That’s how I want my story to be.”
Out of the two matchups Dustin Poirier wants before his retirement, how many can he win? Well, my prediction is that The Diamond’s MMA record of 30-9-0(1NC), will get a slight bump and he will end his professional MMA career with a record of 32-9-0(1NC). Let us know if there is anyone else Dustin Poirier should fight before he retires.