When you talk about the best boxers in MMA, you’ll find Dustin Poirier‘s name makes the list nine out of ten times. The way he outclassed Conor McGregor in their last two encounters was proof enough. And post-retirement from MMA, Poirier envisioned transitioning into boxing under the Zuffa Boxing banner. But Dana White & Co. had to deny him that wish. Why would Zuffa not want to capitalize on one of the all-time UFC greats, who happens to be a veritable pugilist?

“That’s something I would like to do, man, box,” said Poirier to Joe Rogan. “I always wanted to have a couple before, you know. But I’m still under contract. Even though I’m retired, I’ll still have a contract with the UFC…. Trust me. I already pitched it to [Zuffa]. Me and Nate Diaz Zuffa Boxing. Let’s go 170 whatever, 168 super middleweight, let’s do it. They don’t want any crossover…

I think Zuffa wants to be taken seriously. They must hate money. I don’t know. They want to be taken seriously by the boxing world. And I think if you open that door of an MMA guy fighting under Zuffa Boxing. Every guy on the roster. Every girl in the roster is gonna want to do the same. It just becomes a mess, I think,” he said during JRE MMA Show #176.

Dana White, in collaboration with Turki Alalshikh, entered the boxing world in 2026 as a promoter with Zuffa Boxing under the TKO banner. For White, the goal is to disrupt the professional boxing world with a UFC-like model. Poirier had a nearly fifteen-year-long career in the UFC. After his trilogy bout against Max Holloway at UFC 318 last year, ‘The Diamond’ opted for retirement. But for him, the zeal to fight remained alive. ‘The Diamond’ isn’t the only one who wanted to fight under Zuffa Boxing.

Notably, earlier this year, Sean O’Malley opened up about his desire to fight, representing White’s new venture. To that end, the former UFC bantamweight champion also proposed the idea of clashing against Gervonta Davis as a Zuffa Boxing fighter.

However, according to Poirier, Dana White & Co. are currently very strict on the prospect of having MMA fighters crossing over to Zuffa Boxing. To that end, ‘The Diamond’ believes the reason behind this could be protecting their image. Having said that, White has always been vocal about his stance on it.

The moment they announced the idea of Zuffa Boxing, the UFC CEO had a resounding “no” towards MMA-Boxing crossovers. And this may have left Poirier disheartened, especially considering what a boxing bout against Nate Diaz meant for him.

Dustin Poirier was ready to come out of retirement for just one fight

Dustin Poirier‘s UFC career can be defined by two pillars. One was the number of high-intensity bouts he was a part of, and the second was his philanthropic legacy.

After wars against the likes of Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, and Dan Hooker, Poirier was content with the idea of retirement. However, amid that, there is one particular fight for which ‘The Diamond’ wanted to come out of retirement.

“Zuffa Boxing 12 [rounds], me and Nathaniel,” wrote Poirier on X. “I’d do it. Only 1 more fight I’d take. I’m retired, I’m done, but Nate is one that got away.”

Like Poirier, ‘The Stockton Slugger’ is regarded as one of the UFC’s all-time greats, as he was also part of some of the buzzing rivalries and high-stakes bouts.

The pair were supposed to fight at UFC 230 before Poirier pulled out with an injury. Later, claims surfaced from both sides, blaming the other for stalling negotiations, among other things. To this day, that rivalry remains unfinished, occasionally reignited by passing spats on X.

Hence, Poirier’s idea was quite exciting. But of course, Zuffa Boxing’s strict ideology has seemingly derailed that plan. The final nail in that coffin was Diaz joining hands with Jake Paul’s MVP for the Netflix MMA card headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano. There were reports about the UFC targeting Diaz for the Conor McGregor trilogy before the younger Diaz chose the Netflix deal instead.

If he left them high and dry, the prospects of Zuffa doing business with Diaz ever again are as good as dead. On that note, if not under White’s promotion, could Poirier and Diaz look to fight under different organizers? What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments below!