Dustin Poirier reflects on UFC 318 retirement fight: Scoring, guillotine attempt, more

USA Today

20-07-2025

Dustin Poirier's last UFC post-fight press conference.
NEW ORLEANS – UFC 318 served as the closing stage of a legendary MMA career.
Dustin Poirier, a former UFC interim lightweight champion and beloved figure in MMA, is officially done fighting. He announced he was retiring from MMA, and the UFC built an event around him, pitting him against "Baddest Motherf*cker" champion Max Holloway in the main event of the card, which took place at Smoothie King Center in his home state of Louisiana.Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) didn't get to close out on a win, losing a unanimous decision against Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC). He wasn't so much bothered by the defeat, but by how it was seen by the judges sitting cage side.
"Obviously, I wanted to win. Max is a great fighter, tough competitor," Poirier said at the UFC 318 post-fight press conference. "I just felt, being inside the eye of the storm, it just felt a lot closer to me. It felt it was 2-2 going into the fifth. Mike Brown checked the scorecards when we got to the locker room, and I think the judges gave me different rounds. I think all the judges gave him the second round, and I thought I almost had him out. He hurt me too, but I almost had him out. He hurt me, too, but when I thought when I followed up with elbows, I was cracking him. He told me in the medical tent, 'Man, you had me out.' We couldn't hear the bell.
"Being in the fight, it felt a lot closer than that. I heard the judges say 49 whatever, and I was like, 'No, way. It was closer than that.' But like the man says, it is what it is."
Poirier's best moment in the fight came in Round 2. He badly hurt the Hawaiian and went on to connect more shots. It looked like he wasn't far from a finish. In that sequence, Poirier went for his infamous guillotine choke, which he refers to as "guilly," and wasn't able to get it.
Despite the memes and online chatter about his guillotine choke, Poirier has zero regret.
"No, never. One last one," Poirier said. "And damn, I thought that was going to be the one. I had him hurt, and he rolled to his back and I just couldn't control him."
Poirier, 36, closes his career on a two-fight losing streak, having lost to Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title back in June 2024. This is the first time Poirier has suffered back-to-back losses in his 16-year professional MMA career. Although unideal, Poirier wouldn't want it any other way.
"I thought I competed with the best guy in the world, and I thought it was close," Poirier said. "I felt good in there. The cardio felt good. My movement felt good. I wanted that. I wanted to go show that I can compete, make it close, so that I can say I'm still at the top of my game, and I'm going out because I want to. I wanted it to be a war and a drag-them-out fight."
Although Poirier was never able to become an undisputed champion in the UFC, he leaves MMA as one of the most popular and beloved figures in MMA. He was in 10 Fight of the Night award-winning bouts, constantly in contention for Fight of the Year, and fought the who's who in his division over the last decade.
"The Diamond" is proud of the legacy he's built, and felt the MMA community's recognition all through fight week.
"I did make people feel certain ways, and inspired, and I didn't think about that," Poirier said. "The love and the outreach has been incredible, and I really feel it. I'm just thankful that people got inspired and followed my journey. You can do anything you put your mind to, and that's what I want my story to be."