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Dustin Poirier is currently scheduled to face Max Holloway in his retirement fight at UFC 318. The Louisiana native recently shared when he began contemplating retirement from the sport.
In his last fight, 'The Diamond' challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 302. However, after a hard-fought battle, he was unable to seize the opportunity and was defeated by Makhachev via submission.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Poirier expressed that he has lost motivation to climb the ranks and compete for the title again. Reflecting on how the fight at UFC 302 significantly impacted him, he stated:
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"In the moment [at UFC 302], I felt like this might be it, this is it... I didn't officially announce my retirement, but I felt like this was it. I came short of another title fight. I'm never going to get another fight. I have to win 10 in a row to probably get another one, and I don't think I have it in me to go through what it's going to take to get another one."
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He added:
"I've been doing this for a long time... I still have it in me to fight. It's just chasing that title and climbing back up the ladder once again. I'm getting old, my body hurts. I can't train like I used to, but I can still scrap. So, I just want to have a great fight and go out on my terms."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (6:41):
Dustin Poirier reveals who he wanted to face in the retirement fight
For several months, the opponent for Dustin Poirier's retirement fight remained uncertain. However, his criteria were clear: Poirier wanted to face only legends of the sport.
Recently, in an interview with Mike Bohn from MMA Junkie, 'The Diamond' revealed who he initially wanted to fight, saying:
"I was asking Hunter in the UFC for Gaetjhe because we're one-and-one, I wanted to close out that trilogy. For some reason, they really wanted this fight [against Holloway], so I said okay, that's cool because I respect the guy from my last fight. I don't know what their thought process was of putting this together for me and Max, but I have a lot of respect for him, so it made sense to me."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (0:51):
