Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight is locked in versus Max Holloway at UFC 318, but “Blessed” evidently wasn’t among the first two names pitched by the former interim lightweight champion.
After his third failed bid at achieving undisputed kingpin status on MMA’s biggest stage last year, Poirier decided against hanging up the gloves just yet. Instead, he’ll enter the cage for one final farewell.
That’ll come in competition for Holloway’s symbolic BMF title in the main event at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center on July 19. But though a trilogy with the Hawaiian will mark his career’s conclusion, it turns out Poirier initially had other potential matchups in mind.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, “The Diamond” revealed that he enquired to UFC higher-ups about another trilogy — a score-settler with Justin Gaethje — and the chance to welcome Ilia Topuria back to 155 pounds.
“I was asking for Gaethje,” Dustin Poirier said. “I was asking Hunter (Campbell) and the UFC for Gaethje, because we’re 1-1 and I want to close out that trilogy. For some reason they really wanted this fight, so I said, ‘OK, that’s cool because I respect the guy for my last fight.’ I don’t know what their thought process was for putting this together with me and Max, but I have a lot of respect for him, so it makes a lot of sense for me. I said legends only. Definitely fits that.
“Not once (did they offer Topuria),” Poirier continued. “When he said he was going to 155, I messaged Hunter and the UFC and I said, ‘Hey, what’s up? Let me know what’s going on with this guy now that he’s at ’55.’ But they never entertained it. They told me it’s not happening and they wanted Max.”
