It was a memorable night for fight fans and the UFC as Newark, New Jersey saw yet another successful fight card from the Prudential Center. During a night where not a single fight was ended by knockout, fans were treated to some classic back-and-forth wars between some of the toughest fighters on the planet. The Main Event title bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier stole the show, nabbing the 50k “Fight of the Night” bonus and massive respect for both fighters.
Following his loss, Dustin Poirier spoke candidly about his future in the UFC and alluded to his plans for walking away for good.
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Controlled by Islam Makhachev for much of the first two rounds, the fight took a turn in the third once Poirier began to reject Makhachev's takedown attempts, urging the fight to take place on the feet. During an electric third and fourth round, Dustin Poirier saw the tide swing in his favor numerous times, but an eventual takedown and submission attempt in the fifth round from Islam Makhachev sealed the deal as he recaptured his Lightweight Championship.
Following the fight, Joe Rogan caught up with Poirier in the cage to get his thoughts on what transpired over the last 25 minutes.
“I know I can compete with the rest of these guys, but if I do, am I fighting just to fight?” said Poirier. “I got a little girl and a family at home, but I got to see [what's next]. This could be it.”
Poirier continued, “I wanted to dedicate this journey to the people who made me the man I am, and that's the women in my life.”
This was Dustin Poirier's third title fight, not including his BMF fight, without securing the Lightweight Championship. Credited for over 50 fights in his career, Poirier has been fighting in a cage since he was 18 years old. After giving his life to the sport, Poirier has to reevaluate his future plans and his intentions on continuing his UFC career. He alluded to retirement once again during the post-fight press conference.
“At some time this is going to catch up to me. Obviously I just fought the pound-for-pound number one guy and every time I got off the stool, I felt like I was going to win this fight. I remember thinking ‘I'm gonna be the World Champion tonight.'” Poirier continued, “I just gotta see. I can still compete, but I don't want the sport to retire me and squeeze me out, I don't want to be one of those guys. I honor and respect this too much, and, we'll see, this could be my last fight.”
If this was in fact his last fight in the UFC, Dustin Poirier would end his career with a 30-9 overall record, a 22-8-0-1 UFC record, and an eventual induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. While fans would love to see him back for another massive fight, he's given all he has to this sport and we wouldn't fault him one bit for walking away and wanting to spend time with his family.
What did you think of Dustin Poirier's performance at UFC 302?
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