Retirement appears to be moving further and further away in the career of former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.
Poirier initially looked set to bring his memorable stint as an active fighter to an end following a fourth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this past June — a result that marked his third failed bid to achieve undisputed champion status.
But as the weeks went on post-fight, "The Diamond" began to hint at one final foray into the cage, eventually confirming that as the plan in social media posts and during interviews a couple of months on from the Newark loss.
During an appearance on Tuesday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, however, Poirier revised his plans — in a positive way for fans of the Louisianan star.
Poirier confirmed that the gloves will not be getting hung up yet, and he even went a step further than before by revealing potential plans for two more competitive appearances inside the UFC Octagon.
I will fight again," Poirier said. "It's just how this thing unfolds — we'll see when I do retire. It could be uno mas (one more), it could be dos mas (two more). I had a good meeting at the UFC headquarters. I was out there with Celsius at a trade show and I had a good meeting.
There are some things verbally that we've spoke about that are looking promising, but I can't share yet. We're close," Poirier continued. "First quarter of next year. It's looking (like two more fights). I haven't signed anything, we're just weighing out options and talking about timeframes. I love the chaos, so if a crazy fight is presented, I gotta do it.
The key to how everything could unfold? Rumored plans for a UFC event in his home state of Louisiana, and the timeline for that coming to fruition.
My goal is to get an event here in Louisiana. Whether that's Lafayette, New Orleans — I want to lay the gloves down where I started fighting," Poirier stated. "That is my goal. Just (depends on) opponent availability and when makes sense. ... I'm about 95 percent sure that we get this done. It's just, for me, on my part, do I fight before that? Because the longer I'm away from the sport, I just feel removed and I'm not with everything, not training every single day.
I might train three times a week, I'm always staying in shape. But just technique and fundamentals and things, you have to be on the mats every day," Poirier added. "I don't want to wait until summer or end of next year before they can come back to Louisiana. So, maybe I need a fight before then just to stay in the mix, stay fresh, so I can retire how I want to be — on top.
Poirier's latest comments come just days after he teased fight news on social media this past weekend.
Having appeared on the brink of calling it quits just four months ago, 2025 now looks set to be a big year for "The Diamond," as he prepares for a possible outing in the first quarter before a potential homecoming fight for his farewell toward the back end of the year.