Dustin Poirier has opened the door to a return to competitive action, but only if it is against long-time rival Nate Diaz. The former interim lightweight champion retired from MMA last year after a unanimous decision loss to Max Holloway for the BMF title. The 37-year-old has since flirted with a comeback and recently intensified his training.
A Storied Career
Poirier retired with a record of 30-10-1, with notable wins over Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and Anthony Pettis. In 2018, he was scheduled to face Diaz at UFC 230 in New York but withdrew due to injury. Eight years later, Poirier admits he would reverse his retirement just to fight the Stockton brawler.
“I still want to whip Nate’s a**,” Poirier said on the Deep Waters podcast. “I’ll come back to fight him because [our fight] got away, and he lied, and the fans ran on his side.”
The Cancelled Fight
Poirier explained the circumstances surrounding the cancelled bout: “The UFC knew that I was going to fight Nate in our first matchup at Madison Square Garden. Nate was having trouble with his negotiation. I don’t know what was going on, but the UFC called me and said, ‘Hey, we want to keep you on the Madison Square Garden card, would you fight so and so?’ They started offering me other people. I said, ‘Listen, if it’s not Nate, I’m not fighting, I’m going to go have my hip taken care of. If it’s Nate, I’ll fight.’ It wasn’t Nate. They offered me Kevin Lee, they offered me a few other names. I said, ‘I’m going to have surgery on my hip.’ But then Nate used that, and I was the fall guy, like the fight’s off because I pulled out. But I never pulled out, I just never wanted to fight anybody else but Nate.”
Diaz's Recent Activity
Diaz, 41, left the UFC in 2022 after submitting Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in Las Vegas. He then ventured into boxing, losing his professional debut to Jake Paul three years ago. He returned to boxing a year later, securing a decision win over former UFC rival Jorge Masvidal. Diaz is expected to return to the MMA cage next weekend, facing Mike Perry on the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano undercard.
