Nearly three months removed from his last bout, former UFC star Dustin Poirier is still adjusting to life as a retired fighter.
“The Diamond” was one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster during the latter half of his fighting career, but Poirier made it clear ahead of UFC 318 that he’d be hanging up his gloves after a headlining trilogy fight with “BMF” titleholder Max Holloway.
A “Fight of the Night”-winning performance saw Poirier ended his career with a unanimous decision loss to Holloway after winning their first two meetings, and the 36-year-old has already transitioned into doing more analyst work with the UFC following his retirement.
Responding to a fan query on social media, Poirier recently admitted that the transition to retirement hasn’t been easy after a 40-fight career in professional MMA.
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Everyday, the moment my eyes open, I’ve done it for two decades dedicated my life to it…. A part of me has died https://t.co/1y4uV6XORB
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 12, 2025
Although he was quick to promise that it would just be a one-off fight rather than a full-fledged comeback, Poirier did recently tease the idea of temporarily ending his retirement for a boxing match with former UFC star Nate Diaz.
He certainly wouldn’t be the first MMA fighter to end his retirement not long after hanging up his gloves, but Poirier’s place of distinction in the history of both the sport and the UFC is already secure.
Max Holloway (red gloves) fights against Dustin Poirier (blue gloves) during UFC 318 at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Following a 7-0 career as an amateur fighter (although Poirier himself has claimed he also competed in a number of unrecorded fights), “The Diamond” made his professional MMA debut in 2009 and stopped seven-straight opponents before joining WEC, where he went 1-1 before the promotion’s roster was absorbed by the UFC in 2011.
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After losing to Conor McGregor in 2014, the Louisianan decided to move up to the lightweight division and quickly established himself as one of the elite 155 lbs. fighters in the UFC.
The 36-year-old went on to win the interim UFC lightweight belt in his second meeting with Holloway in 2019 before he fell to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his first undisputed title bid later that year.
Islam Makhachev (red gloves) celebrates defeating Dustin Poirier (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
The final five years of Poirier’s fighting career included back-to-back wins over McGregor and two more lightweight title shots, and the loss to Holloway in his retirement fight put “The Diamond” on the first two-fight skid of his illustrious career after he was also submitted by Islam Makhachev in his final championship bid at UFC 302.
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