Dustin Poirier may not be as retired as we thought.
Earlier this year, Poirier hung up the gloves, losing to Max Holloway in his final fight at UFC 318. Though he was still a Top 10-ranked fighter, Poirier said
he wanted to walk away from the sport before he suffered too much more damage, and the entire event was built around his retirement, with the promotion heading to New Orleans for the first time in a decade. But now that retirement may not be as concrete as it once seemed.
On Monday, Poirier was chatting with fans on Twitter when someone asked him if he missed fighting and if he’d be willing to compete in boxing; Poirier said yes to both.
But Poirier didn’t stop there.
Also on Monday, it was announced that Zuffa Boxing, Dana White’s boxing promotion, inked a broadcast rights deal with Paramount starting in 2026. With that seemingly fresh on his mind, Poirier then announced he’s open to competing for the promotion under one condition: he fights Nate Diaz.
“Zuffa Boxing, 12 rounds, me and Nathaniel. I’d do it. Only one more fight I’d take.”
Poirier and Diaz have a long history together. The two men were scheduled to face each other in 2018, but the fight fell through. Since then, the prospect of the matchup has never gone away. Poirier has repeatedly called for the matchup, even after Diaz left the UFC to pursue his interests in boxing. And so, given the circumstances, Poirier says that is the one fight that would pull him back into the ring.
“We not even going anywhere but someone asked me. I’m retired. I’m done. But Nate id the one that got away.”
Diaz left the UFC in 2022 after beating Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 279. Since then, he’s competed twice in boxing, losing to Jake Paul in 2023 but beating Jorge Masvidal in their rematch in 2024.
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VIDEO STEW
Cory Sandhagen interview.
UFC 320 Embedded, episode 1.
UFC 320 Countdown.
Good Guy/Bad Guy.
Israel Adesanya reacts to City Kickboxing running the table at UFC Perth.
Paul Hughes fight camp vlog.
Paddy Pimblett in a Battlefield 6 ad.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Building the suspense.
BSD ready for war.
T.J. Dillashaw looks enormous.
Paulo Costa vs. Fabricio Werdum. Book it.
I’m sure this won’t come back to bite Manel Kape at all.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Beneil Dariush (23-6-1) vs. Benoit Saint Denis (15-3, 1 NC); UFC 322, Nov. 15.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Nobody ever retires from fighting. I mean, Poirier probably won’t compete again, but DP vs. Nate is a fight that I could absolutely see Dana White booking for a Zuffa Boxing event. And if Poirier wins? Maybe he catches the boxing bug, and here we are.
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