What happens when a fighter hangs up the gloves? Some fade into the background. Others jump into commentary. And then there’s Dustin Poirier, who apparently turns his gym into an art project.

Recently, Poirier’s wife, Jolie, shared a story on Instagram that had the MMA world in splits. She filmed ‘The Diamond’ painting “Silly Goose Fitness Club” on the walls of what appeared to be his home gym.

The camera then panned across the floor to reveal doodles of a goose wearing a red bandana, drawings that looked destined for the walls. Jolie didn’t mince words in her playful plea as she captioned her story, “No seriously @ufc take him back @dustinpoirier can’t be left unsupervised.”

It was a lighthearted jab, but behind it sits the truth of a major career shift. The Louisiana native called time on his fighting career after UFC 318. He faced longtime rival Max Holloway in a main event that delivered fireworks but ended in defeat for ‘The Diamond’. The bout marked Poirier’s final walk to the cage, a farewell fight in front of his home crowd.

Retirement hasn’t meant disappearing, though. Instead, Poirier confirmed he’ll step into a new role as an analyst and commentator. “Looking forward to getting back on the ESPN desk, going to start focusing on that now,” he wrote on X. In doing so, he joins a roster of UFC veterans who’ve built second careers breaking down fights like Daniel Cormier, Michael Bisping, Paul Felder, and Dominick Cruz.

But how do you move on after 30 pro wins against some of the best fighters on the planet? After all, Poirier’s resume is filled with legends. He holds wins over Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, Anthony Pettis, and Holloway. Few fighters without an undisputed belt carry a record so stacked. Many even argue he’s the best UFC fighter never to wear the crown.

And through all of it, Jolie has been a constant. They first met in middle school in Lafayette, Louisiana. They married in 2009 and welcomed their daughter, Parker Noelle, in 2016.

Over the years, Jolie has been more than a cheerleader. As Dustin Poirier once shared, “Not only my daughter but my wife is like an anchor for sure, I don’t think I would be as successful as I am business-wise or fight-wise if she wasn’t in my life at such a young age. And I just realized how much they mean to me and how happy I am when they are around.”

Whether Poirier ever gets lured back into a comeback is anyone’s guess. But now with his role as an analyst, he recently came out with some crucial advice for Aaron Pico, who suffered a brutal knockout in his UFC debut.

Dustin Poirier shows off his analyst chops as he breaks down what went wrong at Aaron Pico’s UFC debut

Aaron Pico’s long-awaited UFC debut didn’t unfold the way he might have hoped. The Bellator standout stormed into UFC 319 with confidence, but his aggression backfired in brutal fashion. Facing undefeated striker Lerone Murphy, Pico pressed forward with heavy combinations, only to walk straight into a perfectly timed spinning elbow.

For Dustin Poirier, the outcome was less about bad luck and more about bad habits. Speaking on the UFC 319 post-show, the freshly retired legend pointed out, “He’s all in when he fights when he’s coming in to throw these combinations, he’s sharp, but he’s explosive. He doesn’t do any feel out punches, no jabs, no setups. Everything is kill.”

That style, Poirier argued, is a double-edged sword. The problem isn’t ability, it’s pacing. Pico’s wrestling pedigree and boxing chops make him a dangerous fighter, but Poirier believes his refusal to slow down and layer his attacks leaves him vulnerable to counters.

‘The Diamond’ offered a simple answer to his problems, “But you have to set it up against this caliber of fighter. You can’t just rush in there, jump in there, throwing 100% every punch. You have to make them guess. You have to set traps. You have to make them, make mistakes, then put them away…”

As such, Dustin Poirier may have swapped the Octagon for paintbrushes and analyst desks, but his impact on MMA hasn’t slowed. Jolie’s playful “silly goose” plea showed the world a lighter side of ‘The Diamond’ while his sharp advice for Aaron Pico reminds everyone why his voice matters in the fight game. Retirement hasn’t dimmed his presence; it’s only shifted the stage!