UFC icon Dustin Poirier called time on his mixed martial arts career on Saturday, retiring after a thrilling fight with Max Holloway, who finally beat the lightweight legend at the third time of asking.
Poirier had announced months ago that his next fight would be his last, and the end came in his home state of Louisiana, where he challenged Holloway for the ‘Baddest Motherf*****’ title in the main event of UFC 318.
After five thrilling rounds, in which Poirier was dropped twice and Holloway was floored once, the latter retained his belt with scorecards of 48-47, 49-46, 49-46. The victory will have been bittersweet for the Hawaiian, who lost his first two fights against Poirier: his own UFC debut in 2012, and an interim-title fight in 2019.
Holloway, 33, paid respect to the 36-year-old after the bout, before Poirier said at the post-fight press conference: “I wanted to go show I can compete and make it close, to where I can say, ‘Look, I’m still at the top of my game. I’m going out because I want to.’
“I wanted it to be a war and a drag-em-out fight.” And it was that. Holloway, a former featherweight champion who has moved up to lightweight, dropped Poirier in round one, before both fighters were floored in the second round.
Holloway landed with more volume and consistency down the stretch, securing victory and moving closer to a shot at the lightweight title.
That belt is held by Ilia Topuria, who knocked out Holloway in October to retain the featherweight title. Topuria vacated the featherweight gold in February to move up to lightweight, where he won the vacant belt by knocking out Charles Oliveira in June.
Holloway’s fight with Poirier on Saturday (19 July) was his third at lightweight; his first outing at 155lb was his points loss to Poirier in 2019, as the latter claimed the interim title, before Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje last April to win the ‘BMF’ belt. That knockout, which came in the very last second of a 25-minute contest, is considered by some as the greatest KO in UFC history.
Poirier, meanwhile, is deemed by many as the best UFC fighter never to win an undisputed title. After beating Holloway to win the interim lightweight title, he was submitted by regular champion Khabib Nurmagomedov while trying to unify the belts.
Poirier holds eight wins over six former MMA world champions, four of whom held UFC titles. Those fighters are Holloway, Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Michael Chandler and Gaethje.
Poirier submitted Holloway in their first fight and also beat Pettis and Chandler via submission, while he knocked out McGregor in one of their three clashes and also stopped Alvarez and Gaethje.
Poirier lost his first fight with McGregor at featherweight in 2014, before avenging that result with a knockout of the Irishman in 2021, six months before McGregor suffered a broken leg in their trilogy bout.
The “Diamond”, who was accompanied by Louisiana rapper Lil Wayne during his ring walk on Saturday, retires with a professional record of 30-10 (1 No Contest). Often named as one of the UFC’s best boxers, Poirier secured 15 of his wins via KO/TKO, while he earned eight by submission.
