Dustin Poirier is on the back-nine of his splendid UFC career. In fact, he may be headed to the clubhouse very soon.
The 35-year-old will be the challenger for Islam Makhachev’s UFC Lightweight Championship on June 1 at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
It is Poirier’s third time fighting for an undisputed title. He lost each of the previous two.
Poirier lost to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 by submission on Dec. 11, 2021 in Las Vegas, just over two years after Khabib Nurmagomedov won UFC 242 in the same fashion.
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Dustin Poirier poses on the scale during the UFC 299 ceremonial weigh-in at Kaseya Center on March 8, 2024 in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The Lafayette, Louisiana, native knows that this is his final chance to finally win a belt.
“I know this is my shot, I won’t get another one,” Porier said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
At the time, Porier said he would “probably retire right there” if he won a potential championship fight against Makhachev. He was unsure what would happen with a loss, and he still is.
“I want to retire from the sport – I don’t want the sport to retire me,” Poirier said to us at the time.
However, this will be his 40th professional fight, and he admits it “could be” his final fight, win or lose.
“I gotta see how I feel in there,” he says.
Well, so far, with about three weeks until fight night, he says he’s “right where I need to be.”
Dustin Poirier reacts after his victory against Benoit Saint Denis of France in a lightweight fight during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 9, 2024 in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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“We’re kind of just getting over the hump of the crazy, crazy hard work and the dangerous stuff. Now it starts to get more smoother, start focusing on weight, making sure I’m feeling good leading into fight week, firing on all cylinders, a lot of reps, a lot of technique training,” Poirier said.
Poirier was an underdog in his fight at UFC 299 against Benoit Saint-Denis, but he came away with a huge victory. It very likely extended his career, as he had lost two of his previous three bouts.
That provided a bit of a confidence boost, but it does not sound like Poirier needed much of one.
“I’m grateful, man. I try to stay in that mindset regardless of what fight’s coming up and stuff like that. Growing up, my mindset’s changed over the years. I wake up with gratitude every day, but having this big fight on the horizon, it adds more fuel to the fire. I wake up motivated. I’ve been fighting for a long time.”
“I’m 35 years old, this is my third UFC undisputed world title shot. Like I said, man, gratitude. I’m just thankful to be in the position I’m in and to grind it out and persevere all these years to climb my way back up over and over again through these young killers in this young division. To make it to the top of the mountain and have a chance to raise my hands in the air and be the undisputed world champion, the best in the world, that’s all I’m focused on, man, just being my best at night.”
Dustin Poirier reacts after his victory against Benoit Saint Denis of France in a lightweight fight during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 9, 2024 in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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He added, “I know I can beat anybody in the world. I know this guy I’m facing is pound-for-pound the number one guy. He’s on a tear, tough stylistic matchup for me… But I think my whole career has prepared me for this night. Everything happened the way it’s supposed to happen for me to get in there and fight for the world title June 1.”
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