Diamonds are Forever: Dustin Poirier's career paid in full

USA Today

18 hours ago

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Dustin Poirier is retiring at UFC 318. His mind is made up.
Poirier knows he could keep going beyond Saturday's trilogy fight with BMF champion Max Holloway in his home state of Louisiana at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). However, he simply won't.
Why not? Because Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) refuses to take anything more from the sport that has given him everything he ever wanted.
"I'm proud of chasing a dream and providing financial freedom for my wife and my family," Poirier recently told MMA Junkie from inside American Top Team. "We're in a good spot all because I had a passion to do something that I love. When I look back at this, none of this was done in vain. The accolades, the interim belt, the Fight of the Night awards – all that stuff's great. To be in the record books, I appreciate that stuff. But to provide for my family, do something I set out to do as a kid on a journey, that's amazing."
'I don't want this sport to retire me'
Poirier has no doubt he can deliver more Fight of the Night-worthy bouts. He could allow the UFC to write him more seven-figure pay checks. Who knows? If the stars align, perhaps he could even score a fourth undisputed lightweight title shot against Ilia Topuria.
Nope.
Poirier doesn't want it. In fact, he thinks it would be poor practice to try to milk anything more from the udders of MMA.
"I came to the decision to retire from the sport because I'm 36," Poirier said. "I think I have a few good years left in me. I could put on some bangers and beat some really tough guys and even potentially fight for the belt again. But how much do I need to put my body and mind through to get that goal? How much more of myself do I need to give up? I've left a lot in there over the years.
"I have a family. I have another kid on the way. I want to be a father. I want to be at home. I want to be mentally well as I get older. I want to see my daughter get married. There's no secret this isn't good for you. What we do, this isn't good for you. I hurt every morning, and my back hurts. My knees, my hips, my shoulders – the list goes on. Combat sports is tough. The thing with me and the sport, too, is I don't want to disrespect it to squeeze out every paycheck I can get because I'm leaving a lot of money by walking away. I don't want this sport to retire me. I want to retire from this sport. That's what it is."
No regrets, done for good
After making his UFC debut in January 2011, Poirier has built a career that will stand the test of time and eventually be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame. No one has won more 155-pound fights in the UFC by knockout than Poirier. If he doesn't put you away, he'll have a Fight of the Year war like he did with Dan Hooker in June 2020, when they combined for the most total strikes landed in division history.
"The Diamond" holds wins over the likes of Holloway (twice), Conor McGregor (twice), Hooker, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller and more. His list of wins speaks for itself, but just as important are his defining losses.
Poirier being 0-3 when fighting for the undisputed belt is an essential part of his story for better or worse. He could not get past Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira or Islam Makhachev when his opportunities arose, and the emotional devastation of those defeats were there for the world to see.
Now that the story is at its finish line, however, Poirier doesn't look back with regret. It all shaped him into what he is today, someone who, regardless if the story ends on a win or a loss against Holloway at UFC 318, is built for a new era in life.
"When I look back at the journey, I think I did everything exactly the way it was supposed to be," Poirier said. "There's things I could've done differently in fights, obviously. Hindsight is 20/20. I could've zigged a lot of times when I should've zagged, or vice versa. That's what it is. I just want people to remember me as a hard worker, a kid who chased his dreams, provided for his family, his community, tried to do the right thing, but was just a man. Not perfect, fought his ass off, never said die. That's it. Just a warrior.
"Storybook ending for my final fight, it would be a war. Both of us bleeding, hurting. Somehow I get the W, get my hand raised and keep the tradition of never losing two in a row. I'll put (my gloves) down and never pick them up. I'm not one of the guys who is going to come out of retirement. Once I lay 'em down, it's done."