Dustin Poirier plans to ride off into the sunset following his upcoming fight against Max Holloway, which headlines UFC 318 in his home state of Louisiana.
The former interim lightweight champion has been teasing his potential retirement for the past couple of years but now Poirier is ready to pull the trigger with one last hurrah scheduled in New Orleans on July 19. The card marks the first UFC pay-per-view card in New Orleans in a decade and UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the entire event was planned to give Poirier a proper sendoff for his career.
“Throughout the world, Dustin Poirier is a big star for us,” White told WDSU in Louisiana. “He’s accomplished a lot in the sport. This is for him, to be honest with you. This is for him. He wanted to have his last fight and end his career in New Orleans so here we are.”
Poirier has pushed for the UFC to return to New Orleans for several years with his last appearance there happening back in 2015 when he knocked out Yancy Medeiros at a UFC Fight Night card.
While Poirier never held an undisputed title during his UFC career, White praised him as one of the greatest fighters to ever set foot in the octagon after spending the past 15 years competing for the promotion between the UFC and WEC.
“Actually, he’s ranked No. 5 in the world right now in the lightweight division,” White said about Poirier. “He’s a guy who’s held his position in the top 10 in the sport for a very long time. He’s achieved a lot.
“He’s one of the all-time greats. Thousands of people have fought in the UFC, I don’t know where I could rank him but he’s one of the all-time greats.”
The same goes for Poirier’s opponent as he prepares to face Holloway for a third time.
Poirier got the win in both of their previous encounters with a submission victory against Holloway when he first debuted in the UFC back in 2012 and then earning a unanimous decision over the Hawaiian when they met again with the interim lightweight title on the line in 2019.
Now Holloway looks to avenge those past losses while stepping into enemy territory with his “BMF” title going up for grabs against Poirier in his home state.
“Poirier is fighting Max Holloway — another one of the all-time greats,” White said. “It should be an amazing fight.”
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