UFC 291 witnessed the clash of the legends. Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier stepped into the octagon promising a war and they surely delivered. Notably, this wasn’t the first time these two fighters were facing each other. In 2018, although Poirier emerged as the victor, for their second, the tables turned in their second fight. Gaethje knocked out Poirier in the second round, with one minute remaining on the clock. It would later be revealed that the defeat left an undeniable mark on Poirier’s mind.

The impact of the defeat was such that it left Poirier in a spiral. ‘Diamond’ even considered retiring from the world of MMA altogether, however, it was too soon for the lightweight great to leave the octagon. In his latest confession, Poirier thanked his wife Jolie Poirier for never leaving him hanging. Let’s see what ‘Diamond’ said about her.

Jolie Poirier saved Dustin Poirier from retirement

The clash was the key to the lightweight title and a win could’ve propelled Poirier to his chance to the title but things never went according to his plans. Justin Gaethje took control of Poirier in the second round and through a spectacular kick knocked ‘Diamond’ out of the park. ‘Highlight’ celebrated his win by doing a backflip on the octagon as he took revenge for his loss against Poirier back in 2018.

Gaeethje was in seventh heaven but for Poirier, the story was a bit different. ‘Diamond’s aspirations were shattered after the fight. He even considered retirement, but Poirier’s wife never let him go down the path of depression. In his latest confession with Ariel Helwani, Poirier emphasized that his friends and wife saved him from being too depressed.

Poirier said “After the Gaethje fight, man, I went through some real mental struggles. Man, I was going through some stuff, and that’s when I started really practicing mindfulness, setting my intentions, and just trying to be grateful for every day. It was really bad. ‘.

He further added “A lot of people helped me – my friends, my business partners, but my wife, my wife really, dude. I’m just very thankful for her, and if I was in her position, I don’t know if I could take the stuff she’s taken, you know? I would like to think I can, but I’m just grateful to have somebody like that.”  The fight took something out of Poirier but seems like he is back to his senses but this has not stopped him from thinking about his retirement.

Poirier’s unexpected retirement plans

Dustin Poirier has said that his time in the UFC is coming to an end and he is planning for a perfect retirement as well. Ahead of his bout against Benoit-Saint Denis, Poirier had a conversation with ESPN’s Bret Okomoto where he asserted his retirement plans.

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In the conversation, he said, “I know it’s [the end] is coming, I can’t do this forever. I’m 35 years old. This is my 40th professional fight, I have a lot of amateur fights as well. I have a family to be there for. Every time I get in there, Saturday night a piece of me is gonna leave that I can never get back. I can’t love something so much to where it takes away from what’s most important. Fighting is just something I do”.

Poirier seems to have made his decision about his career, however, ‘Diamond’ has now won against Saint-Denis and is looking at a title fight. What do you think would be Poirier’s career trajectory?

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