3 Potential Opponents for Dustin Poirier’s UFC Retirement Fight

Dustin Poirier has been at the top of the lightweight division for nearly a decade, fighting only the best since joining the division in 2015. Some might call him the best fighter in the UFC never to win undisputed gold, but his resume speaks for itself when you look at the people he’s fought.

In June, we saw Poirier take on perhaps the toughest opponent of his career, Khabib Nurmagomedov protégé Islam Makhachev. At UFC 301, Makhachev submitted Poirier in the 5th round via d’arce choke in what was likely Poirier’s last chance at winning the undisputed 155-pound title.

Poirier has fought and defeated some of the UFC’s best fighters in the 155-pound division, including Conor McGregor (twice), Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, Max Holloway, and Eddie Alvarez. If you listen to Poirier, he keeps saying that if he’s not fighting for titles, then what is he fighting for?

But what about money fights? Legacy fights? If you’re not fighting for gold, but are capable of doing so, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity for financial gain for you and your family. Remember, Poirier is still ranked as the No. 4 contender in the lightweight division. There’s a good chance we won’t see him fighting the young and hungry up-and-comers, but what about the big names in the UFC?

You could argue that any fighter on this list could be the best option. The only person who can decide what is good is Poirier himself, but these are definitely fun options for everyone involved.

This fight makes sense in many ways when you look at the landscape of the lightweight division. Their record against each other is one-on-one, with each fighter winning by knockout. If you look at the lightweight rankings, Gaethje is ranked No. 3 in the world at lightweight, while Poirier is ranked No. 4 at lightweight.

If Gaethje hadn’t been such an entertaining fighter and hadn’t wanted to fight Max Holloway for the BMF title at UFC 300, we might as well have seen Gaethje fight Makhachev at UFC 301 for the lightweight title instead of Poirier.

Poirier and Gaethje first fought in April 2018 in a 5-round main event in Glendale, AZ, with Poirier winning that fight via TKO in the 4th round. Going into the first fight, Poirier was ranked No. 4 lightweight and Gaethje was ranked No. 7 lightweight.

They both learned a lot from their 2018 fights and both looked like champions in their own right, although they both seemed to ignore their interim titles. The two became interim world champions at 155 pounds, both losing to arguably the best lightweight of all time, Khabib Nurmagomedov, in their attempt to unify the belts and become undisputed world champions.

Fast forward to July 2023, and they’ll meet again for the BMF championship previously held by UFC retired welterweight Jorge Masvidal. The stakes were high, and it looked like the winner of this bout would face champion Islam Makhachev for undisputed gold. Or so we as a community thought. Gaethje eventually won the BMF belt via a second-round headkick knockout in spectacular fashion.

It’s safe to say that we won’t see Gaethje and Poirier until 2025 if they decide to return to the Octagon. At this point and for the foreseeable future, Poirier is leaning towards retirement and Gaethje stated after his UFC 300 performance that it would be at least 6 months before he would step back into the Octagon competitively. Who would say no to seeing this fight for a 3rd time?

Former 155-pounder turned 170-pounder Nate Diaz is another opponent that would have been fun to see take on Poirier. That matchup never came to fruition due to a hip injury that Poirier was dealing with when it was originally scheduled for UFC 230 in 2018. Diaz opted not to take on another opponent on that card and the bout was never really discussed by UFC management as being publicly rescheduled.

The two have been at each other’s throats on social media over who would beat who. And who would say no to this fight? Two southpaws who would be incredibly fun to watch in terms of style would meet in the middle to give fans a fight to remember. But the only reason to hesitate would be if it were too late? Diaz has not fought in the UFC since September 2022, but has always hinted at a return to the Octagon. Diaz is approaching 40, and with Poirier considering retirement, no one knows how much interest either of them really has in fighting each other.

Diaz has been in these boxing matches against Jake Paul and has a fight scheduled for this Saturday against Jorge Masvidal in Anaheim, California in a boxing match. It’s no secret that there’s a lot of money in boxing and that could very well be the reason why this fight against Masvidal is taking place in a ring instead of the Octagon. Only time will tell if Diaz ever returns to the Octagon, but if he does, Poirier should definitely be on the shortlist to fight him, whether it’s in the ring or the Octagon.

A quadrilogy has only happened once before in UFC history, but this feels like a huge opportunity for all parties involved. The marketability of this series, which is still one-on-one by the UFC, could certainly be a selling point. In July 2021, Poirier defeated McGregor by first-round KO due to a doctor’s stoppage when McGregor broke his ankle late in the round.

Even more than the banter Diaz and Poirier throw at each other, McGregor and Poirier are always talking. The UFC could make this fight at any time and fans would be excited to tune in. McGregor was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 during International Fight Week but decided to withdraw due to a broken toe. The hesitation to do so may be because Poirier entered the third fight injured and didn’t want to risk what he calls the greatest comeback of all time.

This fight makes perfect sense from all aspects of fighting. The UFC would get two stars to headline another huge PPV event, McGregor would have the motivation to avenge Poirier’s losses, and Poirier would have the motivation to show the fans that he is once again the better fighter. At the same time, each side would be financially motivated to make this happen. The trilogy that took place in July 2021 at the time generated the third-largest gate in UFC history at $15.7 million.

All three are viable options and make a lot of sense, as they will hopefully give Poirier the motivation he’ll be lacking if he’s not fighting for a title. Do you fight the trilogy with Gaethje and settle the score? Do you fight Diaz for all the financial gain that comes with fighting someone with the last name Diaz? Or do you truly settle the score with McGregor in a quadrilogy and get all the financial success that comes with fighting McGregor? There’s no wrong answer, but which makes the most sense? Only Poirier can make that decision if he decides to return to the Octagon for one final fight.