Ahead of his last fight at UFC 318, Dustin Poirier has placed a familiar face alongside a more controversial one on his MMA Mount Rushmore.<\/p>\n
Poirier<\/a> is expected to receive significant fanfare when he makes the walk in front of his fellow Louisianans inside New Orleans\u2019 Smoothie King Center this Saturday.<\/p>\n In the main event of UFC 318, Poirier will retire against Max Holloway<\/a> as the fan-favorite lightweight veteran hangs up his gloves to bring an 18-year career to an end.<\/p>\n Across an MMA<\/a> tenure spanning close to two decades, Poirier has shared the cage with and witnessed some of the best fighters the sport has ever seen. With that in mind, he is well placed to weigh in on a never-ending debate.<\/p>\n Dustin Poirier puts former UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov on his MMA Mount Rushmore<\/p>\n During a recent appearance on The Danza Project ahead of his final farewell in New Orleans, Poirier was asked to give his take on an age-old discussion.<\/p>\n A multitude of names often appear on fighters\u2019 and fans\u2019 selections for their MMA Mount Rushmore. \u2018The Diamond\u2019 chose four of the more common choices, including his former opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTop four? (Jon) Jones, Khabib, (Georges) St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva,\u201d Poirier said.<\/p>\n Nurmagomedov submitted Poirier at UFC 242 in 2019<\/a>, marking the American\u2019s first of three failed attempts at reaching the undisputed lightweight throne.<\/p>\n \u2018The Diamond\u2019 went on to give a couple of honorable mentions, including to another legendary figure from his longtime division.<\/p>\n \u201cI need more of a mountain, man, because BJ Penn in his prime\u2026Fedor Emelianenko\u2026there are so many legends out there,\u201d Poirier said. \u201cWhen they were in their prime, man, it was something special.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Dustin Poirier expects his retirement to last longer than Jon Jones\u2019<\/p>\n All four of the names Poirier mentioned were together in retirement. Jones, however, has seemingly changed his mind.<\/p>\n Just weeks after Dana White announced Jones\u2019 retirement<\/a>, the controversial Rochester native announced plans to return in 2026 after Donald Trump pitched a UFC event on the lawn of the White House.<\/p>\n \u2018Bones\u2019 recently reiterated his intention to fight again at that occasion during a walk-and-talk interview with TikToker\u00a0Joy Of Everything<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t promise anyone anything, but I have a very strong feeling that I\u2019ll be on that card,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be historic. It will be as big as the \u2018Thrilla in Manila\u2019, or \u2018The Rumble in the Jungle\u2019, it\u2019s up there with that. Essentially, it could be bigger than that.<\/p>\n \u201cI would want to take on whoever is holding the belt at the end of the year. As of right now, the champion is Tom Aspinall, but we\u2019ll see who the champion is at the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like to have an American fight for a championship that night, I would put it all on the line\u2026right now, I\u2019m just trying to be a good citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n Poirier no doubt expects his retirement to last considerably longer than Jones\u2019 has, having suggested that only an extremely unlikely fourth title shot would be able to change his commitment to hanging up the gloves this Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n