Dustin Poirier isn’t buying Nate Diaz’s retirement claim.
Following his heartbreaking loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, Dustin Poirier immediately began his soul-searching journey. He wasn’t sure what the future held for him or if there even is a future as far as MMA is concerned, but he did know one thing: If he were to have one more fight, it would need to be against Nate Diaz.
Poirier and Diaz have unfinished business dating back four years ago to their collapsed UFC 230 booking. Neither man has forgotten that unfulfilled date, and they have sporadically trash-talked one another on social media over the years.
It wasn’t until Poirier’s loss to Oliveira that talk of the two finally fighting hit such a fever pitch. Both men have publicly agreed to fight, and yet there has been no significant progress toward making it official.
Diaz Joins Poirier’s Unscheduled Retirement Party
Over the weekend, Nate Diaz would take a different approach towards getting the fight against Poirier booked. He would appeal to the UFC to set this up as his retirement fight before he rides off into the Stockton sunset.
While it is unknown what White and the UFC made of Diaz’s retirement claim, the other invested party, Dustin Poirier, isn’t convinced.
“I don’t believe that,” Poirier said of Diaz’s retirement claim during a recent media scrum. “Nate, he’s got that dog in him. He’s gonna fight forever. We’ll see what happens, but I believe he has a lot of fight left in him—but no telling what his plans are and his exit game and whatever’s going on. But I want the fight, and I think he wants it as well.”
Poirier’s choice of words may have been influenced by Diaz himself, who just last year stated that he would never retire.
One possibility is that Diaz is using a faux retirement as a way to persuade the UFC to book this fight as the last fight on his current UFC deal while avoiding any re-signing negotiations. That would allow Diaz to not only get the fight he wants but also hit the free-agent market, where he would have increased negotiation leverage, whether or not he opts to re-sign with the UFC.
Poirier has maintained that a fight with Diaz is the only bout he’s interested in, and the feeling seems to be mutual on the Diaz side.
As we tread deeper into 2022, we’ll find out if this year will play host to one or both of these two legends’ final career fight and if it will be against one another.
Do you believe Nate Diaz would really retire after a fight against Dustin Poirier?
