Dustin Poirier has all but put to bed talks off retirement on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show‘.
Poirier, who last made the walk to the octagon to face lightweight champion Islam Makhachev on the 1st of June in New Jersey, seemed to be conflicted after the fight about whether to keep fighting or not. Poirier put in a good performance against Islam but ultimately came up short, getting submitted in the 5th round. Poirier even went as far as to say on ‘The MMA Hour‘ with Ariel Helwani after the fight that if he had won the fight, “I was going to put the belt down with the gloves.”
Poirier is one of the UFC’s biggest stars and is one of the most popular superstars among the fans, so the news of a return is music to the ears of the UFC and fans alike.
The former interim lightweight champion’s appetite for fighting seems to be the same as ever having been questioned about nearly running into the UFC’s biggest star Conor Mcgregor.
Poirier, who was at an event doing a signing for Celsius, came within seconds of running into McGregor, who he has shared the octagon with three times, winning twice. On ‘The Ariel Helwani Show‘ Poirier was questioned about it and said:
“Yeah, for sure [we would have fought]. Just everything we have over the past however many years since our first fight. So sure we would have.”
Dustin Poirier Addresses Retirement, Not Quite Ready
After that Poirier compared his and McGregor’s relationship to that off Peter Griffin and the Chicken on family guy saying:
“He said some foul things. You ever watch Family Guy? You know when Peter and the Chicken run into each other? They freaking go on this crazy fight, they’re falling down hills, they’re fighting for an hour — that’s what would have happened.”
Also, while speaking with Ariel Helwani, Poirier went on to talk about whether he was going to continue fighting. Dustin confirmed that he was going to make the walk at least one more time, possibly two, depending on timing and availability. However, Poirier made it no secret that his dream was to finish his career in his home state of Louisiana.
The UFC has not held an event in Louisiana since 2015, where Dustin fought at a catchweight of 159.5 pounds against Yancy Medeiros, earning a first-round stoppage. When asked about what his plans are for his retirement bout, Dustin said:
“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.”
The Dream Ending
Being a proud Louisiana Native, Poirier gives a lot back to his community at every opportunity he gets. Alongside his long-time partner Jolie, Poirier established The Good Fight Foundation in 2018 and has raised incredible amounts of money, which has helped an incredible amount of people from not only his hometown, Lafayette or even the state of Louisiana but people all over the world so to see Dustin get a send-off in front of a packed crowd of his own people would be something special to witness. Poirier went on to say this about having his last fight in Louisiana:
“To be completely content: I’d love to lay my gloves down at home and never fight again,” Poirier added. 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.”
Regardless of how Dustin Poirier’s story ends inside the UFC, the career and the impact that he has had in the sport is undeniable, and more importantly, he has had just as big if not a bigger impact outside the octagon using his superstardom to give back at every opportunity he gets. When “The Diamond” will make his final walk is unknown at the moment, but millions of people will be tuning in to watch whenever it is and wherever it is.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
