Dustin Poirier doesn’t know if he will retire or keep pressing forward with his pro MMA career.
Approaching the age of 33 with 36 pro bouts under his belt, “The Diamond” has a decision to make. Poirier is coming off a second failed bid at the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship. He fell short against Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 269 back in December, losing via third-round submission.
Dustin Poirier Won’t Commit To Next Move
Dustin Poirier was quite honest during an appearance on THE FIGHT! with legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas. Poirier said he’s having inner conversations about what his motivation to keep fighting would be.
“What happens next? That’s the big question, what happens next for me? If I’m out of the title picture, am I fighting to get myself back there, or am I fighting for a paycheck? Am I fighting because I love to get into fights? That’s a big question I have to answer and I’m still, like I said, trying to process everything.”
“The Diamond” went on to say that he’s been so wrapped up in the fight game throughout his adult life that he’s unsure of whether or not he’s close to hanging up his gloves.
“Yeah. It’s tough to explain really but my life is so intertwined with fighting. I’ve been fighting for 15 years and I’ve been chasing this dream with all of myself. I go to sleep thinking about it, I wake up thinking about it.
“I can’t even go on vacation without thinking these guys are getting better while I’m sitting back getting a suntan with my family. It was like a cloud always on my mind. Honestly, man looking at myself and figuring out who — I know fighting is just something I do but when you do it this long and give it everything you have it becomes who you are in a way.
“I always wanted to separate em’ and keep fighting as something I do. I’m other things, I’m a father, a husband, all these other things but the more I get to this point where I have to make these big decisions I realize that it’s not just something I do. I really am fighting.
“So, to say the word ‘retire’ and think I’m gonna walk away and never fight again or something like that, I just don’t know how to process that in my brain. It doesn’t feel right saying it. I just don’t know, I don’t know.”
Poirier is the number two-ranked UFC lightweight. There are plenty of intriguing matchups for him if he ultimately decides to stick around the fight game. Names such as Nate Diaz and Michael Chandler spring to mind and one can’t rule out yet another encounter with Conor McGregor.
