Dustin Poirier ‘blown away’ by UFC retirement fight setup: ‘I didn’t think they would entertain that idea’

Dustin Poirier has a unique chance to write a rare MMA storybook ending.

UFC made Poirier’s final fight official this past week when it announced that “The Diamond” will meet Max Holloway inside the Octagon for the third time. With Holloway’s symbolic BMF title on the line, the legendary duo will headline UFC 318 with a lightweight affair on July 19 in Poirier’s home state of Louisiana, as the promotion heads to New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center.

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Poirier, 36, contemplated retirement ahead of his most recent fight — a fifth-round title loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this past June. Ultimately, however, Poirier wanted to go into his final sendoff with a clear mind. He’ll do so this summer in the UFC’s first Louisiana-hosted card since June 2015.

“I came short of another title fight,” Poirier said on Monday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I’m never going to get another title fight. I’d have to win 10 in a row, probably, to get another one, and I don’t think I have it in me to go through what it takes to get another one. I’ve been doing this a long time.

“I was like, ‘You know what? I gotta do this right. Go out with a big one.’ 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.

“I just want to have a great fight and go out on my terms,” he continued, “and when I brought it to the UFC’s attention that I wanted to do it in Louisiana, if possible, and they entertained that, I was kind of blown away. I didn’t think they would entertain that idea. It’s just an honor. I’m thankful the company listened.”

Despite falling short for the third time in his pursuit of the undisputed UFC title, Poirier put up a valiant effort against Makhachev at UFC 302, proving he’s still as elite as they come at 155 pounds.

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Before ever settling on another Holloway encounter for his swan song, Poirier threw out the idea of a Louisiana homecoming to the UFC on multiple occasions. It wouldn’t have been a deal-breaker if it hadn’t happened, especially considering how he performed against Makhachev, but it certainly worked out perfectly for “The Diamond.”

“I probably would have still fought somewhere [else], but just the fact that it all lined up is great for me, and my family and people who don’t get to travel the world and come to all these crazy fights I’ve been in,” Poirier said. “But I probably still would have done just one more because I don’t want to leave the Octagon like I did in the Islam fight, where I’m kind of second-guessing everything. I want to be sure of it. Walk into the arena knowing this is my last time I’m ever going to feel this.

“That being said, this whole camp, fight week, everything I’m going to do coming up in these next two months, I’m going to just try to embrace. This is the last time I’m ever going to be put in this position, and feel these nerves, and get to walk out of an arena and fight another man. And what a legend — when they gave me Max Holloway — to be standing across from. I said legends only, and he’s definitely all of that.”

Poirier has been a consistent entertainer for nearly 15 years as a professional with his violently artistic variety of pugilism. Regardless of the opponent, he’s been a must-see competitor since he showed up on the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) radar at featherweight more than a decade ago.

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It wasn’t long after that Poirier welcomed Holloway to the UFC on short notice, battering the young Hawaiian en route to a first-round triangle-armbar victory at UFC 143 in 2012. Their rematch came years later at UFC 236 in 2019, when Poirier once again halted the then-featherweight champ’s momentum, winning a unanimous decision in one of the year’s best bouts.

Following Holloway’s recent featherweight title fight loss to the now-former champion Ilia Topuria in October, he declared intentions to make a permanent move to lightweight.

Yet from Poirier’s perspective, a “Blessed” trilogy never even came to mind.

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“That wasn’t even a name I mentioned to them when we started talking about this fight coming together,” Poirier said of Holloway. “Topuria, [Justin] Gaethje — I thought me and Gaethje could close the trilogy, maybe. But this has been going on so long, Gaethje was matched up with Dan Hooker [for UFC 313] at the time this really started taking place, so he wasn’t an option at the time.”

The Gaethje idea was initially enticing for Poirier. For Poirier’s first crack at the BMF strap, he and Gaethje rematched in July 2023 after Poirier previously knocked out “The Highlight” in April 2018.

Between Gaethje or Holloway as his main trilogy options, anyone complaining about either as a sendoff for Poirier would be purely anti-fun — or just a concerned relative, according to Poirier.

“That’s tough looking back,” Poirier said of who his top choice would’ve been for his retirement fight. “I known about Max for a little while now, so I’ve kind of been sitting on that. Max is great. I was his first fight in the UFC, he [will be] my last. Like I said in my fight with Benoit Saint Denis — bro, this is the nature of the beast. Guys get old, young guys come in. It’s just cool that a full-circle moment like this between Max and I [can happen]. Fought at the beginning of his career, the middle of his run, and now fighting at the end of my career — it’s kind of cool. But closing the trilogy out with Gaethje means something to me too.

“Thinking about what [Gaethje] said in [a recent] interview, how our families don’t deserve this — anytime me and this guy fight, it’s going to be a head-on collision. Somebody’s getting hurt or both of us are getting hurt. We could fight 100 times — that’s 100 hospital trips, for sure. So, [I’m] not saying the Max fight won’t be a war, because the last one definitely was, but Gaethje said he was OK closing this thing out 1-1, and the more I’m removed from that fight being an option, the more I’m OK with it too.”

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The UFC’s BMF concept is always fun for the fighters involved, more than anything. For Poirier, it’s also extra incentive if the entire setup for his final walk wasn’t enough. Poirier said it was all the UFC’s idea, and from a business perspective, it made sense to magnify the moment as a main event.

So what happens if Poirier pulls off the dream victory in stellar fashion?

He isn’t concerned about changing his mind. Poirier knows what awaits him after fighting and looks forward to it.

“I plan to win and look good doing it,” Poirier said. “This is it. When I lay the gloves down, I’m done fighting. I have to come to terms with that. I think it’s going to be pretty tough, but I’m still on the way to that fight, so it’s not there yet. I’m not dealing with those emotions yet. I have a long camp ahead of me. Max is a tough, tough fight. It’s going to be a lot of emotional ups and downs after this one.

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“I just want to be healthy and a father and a husband, and be home more. Staying busy. Being the daddest man on the planet, you know? That’s what I want to do.

“I’m always doing something,” he added. “I’ve got a lot of businesses going on outside of fighting, but nothing is going to keep me busy like fighting does. Nothing is going to fill that void like fighting. I’m going to try to find something. Hopefully I don’t go crazy.”