Poirier to retire from MMA in Louisiana fight with Holloway

NEW ORLEANS, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — It started in Louisiana, it will end in Louisiana. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier is finishing his career in his home state.

Poirier made his professional debut at USA MMA 7 – River City Rampage in Shreveport. In his last fight, the Lafayette native will be the main event at UFC 318 in New Orleans against long-time rival Max “Blessed” Holloway.

To end his career on a positive note, Poirier has to beat Holloway for the third time.

The two have fought twice before. In their first bout, Poirier beat a relatively inexperienced Holloway with a triangle-armbar submission. The 2012 fight was Holloway’s first in the UFC and came just two years after his professional debut.

Their second fight was much closer, with Poirier winning a unanimous decision in a 2019 showdown for the interim lightweight championship. The fight came at a time when Holloway looked unbeatable, having won 13 consecutive fights at featherweight.

Poirier has been publicly mulling over retirement for almost a year since a June 1, 2024, submission loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. At 36 years old Poirier is not past his prime, he challenged for a championship in his last fight, but a 16 year career in MMA has taken a physical toll on him.

Poirier has not won back to back fights since 2021, alternating wins and losses in his last six outings. The last time Poirier was unable to put together consecutive wins was 2013.

Poirier has a 30-9 record and has finished his opponent in 23 of his wins. Holloway is 26-8 with 14 wins by finish. The biggest difference is that Poirier has never been an undisputed champion.

When a fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov left Nurmagomedov as the lightweight champion, and a brawl after the fight left him suspended, Poirier claimed the interim championship by defeating Holloway for the second time.

Porier’s interim championship reign ended with a submission loss to the returning Nurmagomedov in a fight to unify their championships. He’s fought for championships two other times, losing both by submission as well.

Those championship losses have not hurt Poirier’s in the eyes of MMA fans. He remains one of the most popular fighters in the history of the sport. He will wrap up his career with fight number 40 on July 19 at UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.