UFC legend Dustin Poirier said Monday that he’s “leaning toward” retiring after losing to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 on June 1.
“How many more times would I need to fight to put myself back in position to fight for the world title? I don’t know. Like I said, I’m not going to do it again. I’m not going to fight five more times to try to earn another title shot,” Poirier said on “The MMA Hour.”
“I’m in a weird spot, and I don’t know how to explain it or what decision to make. I’m just taking it day by day and seeing what comes with my mind changing and just to see how I feel.”
The 35-year-old fighter couldn’t capture the belt in his third challenge for the undisputed lightweight title. While Poirier hasn’t completely closed the door on fighting again, he admitted that he’s struggling to find motivation nine days after the contest.
“I can’t say I’ll never fight again, but I just don’t know the reason. What am I going to fight for? To get into a battle? I love that, but I’ve taken some lumps over the years,” Poirier said. “It has to be for something. And maybe that’s something I’ll realize in the coming weeks, but I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
Poirier suffered a broken nose that’ll require surgery, damaged ribs, and a knee issue in the fight with Makhachev. Despite dealing with ailments, Poirier said he’s confident he could return to training camp in close to eight weeks if he wanted.
“The Diamond” added that every fight for the past few years could have been his final MMA bout. The Louisiana native said he would’ve laid his gloves and the belt in the center of the Octagon and retired if he had beaten Makhachev.
Entrenched among the top contenders in the 155-pound division, Poirier remains on top of his game following a tightly contested bout ending with Makhachev submitting him with a D’Arce choke at the 2:42 mark of the fifth round.
Poirier said the only things holding him back from retiring is that he believes he “can still compete with these guys” and feels like he’s “still getting better.”
“It’s not like I’m slowing down that much or age is catching up with me,” he added.
Poirier pointed out that he’s never lost back-to-back fights in his career but was reluctant to say it would be enough motivation to step back into the Octagon.
