UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier says he has a lot of years left in the fight game despite previously hinting at a possible retirement if he becomes the undisputed champion.
Poirier was last in action at UFC 264 last month. In one of the most anticipated main events of the year to date, “The Diamond” faced Irish megastar Conor McGregor for the third time in his career. Having leveled their feud at 1-1 with a knockout win on Fight Island in January, Poirier was looking to secure a trilogy victory inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
After being largely dominated in the opening round, McGregor saw his hopes of a comeback crumble when he suffered a gruesome broken leg in the finals seconds before the horn. Despite not winning the trilogy bout in as conclusive a fashion as he’d have liked, Poirier has registered two victories over the former two-division UFC champion in 2021, and will no doubt be first line for a shot at Charles Oliveira’s 155-pound gold.
Despite his current form, Dustin Poirier recently suggested he could retire if he is able to reach the division’s mountaintop. While he’s certainly at the top of his game, the Louisianan is an 11-year WEC/UFC veteran, and has ventures outside of the Octagon that he could certainly choose to focus on should he hang up his fighting gloves.
But during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Poirier appeared to walk back on his claims of pondering an early retirement should he have gold wrapped around his waist. When asked how long he has left in the cage, the former interim lightweight champ gave an answer fans will be relieved to hear.
“I don’t know. I feel good. I feel healthy. Like I said before, there’s a lot of tread on the tires. I just want to make the right decisions. I’m 32 years old, I’ve had some big fights, and I just want to keep moving in that direction, keep training smart, competing smart, and one step at a time. I still feel good. I think I have a lot of years left.”
While fighters such as Anderson Silva continued fighting through losing skids into their forties, Poirier added that he’ll only keep competing if he’s doing so at the highest level.
“We gotta see how I feel, man. Sometimes that hip hurts. But as long as I can compete at the highest level, I think I’m gonna continue to compete.”
Having previously fallen short of the undisputed title against the great Khabib Nurmagomedov, Poirier will hope to have a more successful crack at dethroning the division’s champion if he faces Charles Oliveira next. “Do Bronx” is yet to defend his 155-pound belt since winning it at UFC 262 in May.
But while a clash between the pair seems to be the obvious choice, a recent Twitter feud with Nate Diaz has thrown up another option for “The Diamond.” Given their history, and differing views about the cancelation of their UFC 230 co-main event, a grudge match would certainly be popular among the fans. But despite being open to a clash with the Stockton native, Poirier believes the title fight makes the most sense.
Do you think Dustin Poirier could defeat Charles Oliveira and claim the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship?
