The UFC 302 main event between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier was as good as advertised. With the lightweight title on the line, Makhachev came away with a victory in the fifth round via d’arce choke.
Up until that point, Dustin Poirier had done an excellent job in scrambles and avoiding takedowns. On the ground, they would have been in Mkhachev’s world. But, on the feet, The Diamond was able to take advantage with some nice boxing.
It was a brutal bout, as both men came away bloodied and bruised. Dustin Poirier recently admitted that he is dealing with damaged ribs, a broken nose and a partially torn ACL. He left it all in the octagon at UFC 302 hoping to finish his story.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be as he fell just short of potentially winning gold for the first time in his career. In a recent appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, Dustin Poirier admitted that he had some major plans in place had he been able to defeat Makhachev and win the lightweight title at UFC 302.
“I was going to put the belt down with the gloves,” Poirier said Monday during an appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “But this is my story, and it happened the way it was supposed to happen for my journey. It’s been written already.”
Retiring as champion is something that Poirier had also teased in the lead-up to the title fight back in May. While no official decision has been made yet, there is a chance that UFC 302 was the last time we’ll see Dustin Poirier in the octagon.
“I’m leaning towards being done,” Poirier told Helwani. “Especially getting the title fight. How many more times would I need to fight to get myself back into position to fight for the world title? I don’t know. But like I said, I’m not going to do it again. I’m not going to fight five more times trying to earn another title shot.
“I’m in a weird spot and I don’t know how to explain it or what decision to make. I’m taking it day-by-day and see what comes with my mind changing and seeing how I feel.”
If that was truly the end for Dustin Poirier, he would go down as arguably the best fighter to never win a title. His only time holding gold was when he defeated Max Holloway for the interim lightweight belt at UFC 236.
He would lose that title at UFC 242 when facing off against Khabib Nurmagomedov. A fan favorite, he will assuredly have a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame down the road. In his career, the 35-year-old is 30-9 with 15 finishes in his UFC career.
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