Dustin Poirier reflects on UFC 318 retirement fight: Scoring, guillotine attempt, more
NEW ORLEANS – UFC 318 served as the closing stage of a legendary MMA career.
Dustin Poirier, a former UFC interim lightweight champion and beloved figure in MMA, is officially done fighting. He announced he was retiring from MMA, and the UFC built an event around him, pitting him against "Baddest Motherf*cker" champion Max Holloway in the main event of the card, which took place at Smoothie King Center in his home state of Louisiana.Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) didn't get to close out on a win, losing a unanimous decision against Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC). He wasn't so much bothered by the defeat, but by how it was seen by the judges sitting cage side.
"Obviously, I wanted to win. Max is a great fighter, tough competitor," Poirier said at the UFC 318 post-fight press conference. "I just felt, being inside the eye of the storm, it just felt a lot closer to me. It felt it was 2-2 going into the fifth. Mike Brown checked the scorecards when we got to the locker room, and I think the judges gave me different rounds. I think all the judges gave him the second round, and I thought I almost had him out. He hurt me too, but I almost had him out. He hurt me, too, but when I thought when I followed up with elbows, I was cracking him. He told me in the medical tent, 'Man, you had me out.' We couldn't hear the bell.
"Being in the fight, it felt a lot closer than that. I heard the judges say 49 whatever, and I was like, 'No, way. It was closer than that.' But like the man says, it is what it is."
Poirier's best moment in the fight came in Round 2. He badly hurt the Hawaiian and went on to connect more shots. It looked like he wasn't far from a finish. In that sequence, Poirier went for his infamous guillotine choke, which he refers to as "guilly," and wasn't able to get it.
Despite the memes and online chatter about his guillotine choke, Poirier has zero regret.
"No, never. One last one," Poirier said. "And damn, I thought that was going to be the one. I had him hurt, and he rolled to his back and I just couldn't control him."
Poirier, 36, closes his career on a two-fight losing streak, having lost to Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title back in June 2024. This is the first time Poirier has suffered back-to-back losses in his 16-year professional MMA career. Although unideal, Poirier wouldn't want it any other way.
"I thought I competed with the best guy in the world, and I thought it was close," Poirier said. "I felt good in there. The cardio felt good. My movement felt good. I wanted that. I wanted to go show that I can compete, make it close, so that I can say I'm still at the top of my game, and I'm going out because I want to. I wanted it to be a war and a drag-them-out fight."
Although Poirier was never able to become an undisputed champion in the UFC, he leaves MMA as one of the most popular and beloved figures in MMA. He was in 10 Fight of the Night award-winning bouts, constantly in contention for Fight of the Year, and fought the who's who in his division over the last decade.
"The Diamond" is proud of the legacy he's built, and felt the MMA community's recognition all through fight week.
"I did make people feel certain ways, and inspired, and I didn't think about that," Poirier said. "The love and the outreach has been incredible, and I really feel it. I'm just thankful that people got inspired and followed my journey. You can do anything you put your mind to, and that's what I want my story to be."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UFC on ABC 9 takeaways: Petr Yan's rightful claim to a title shot
What mattered most at UFC on ABC 9 on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Here are a few post-fight musings … 4. Steven Nguyen's historic beatdown Steven Nguyen broke a UFC record that stood for the better part of a decade on the preliminary card when he battered Mohammad Yahya and scored a new all-time single-fight high with six knockdowns landed. Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped Yahya early in the first round and didn't relent for the next 10 minutes. It could've been stopped multiple times, but referee Jason Herzog gave Yahya every chance to show his heart and durability. Yahya had a flash of an unthinkable turnaround early in the second frame, but then it was right back to Nguyen hurting him until the frame expired and the doctor waved it off. Of the thousands of fights that haven taken place over the course of UFC history, only two fighters, Forrest Petz in 2006 and Jeremy Stephens in 2017, landed five total knockdowns in a single bout. Nguyen set a new bar with his performance, and it might be another decade or more until we see something like that happen again. It's truly rare. 3. Muslim Salikhov can still thump Muslim Salikhov made it three straight knockout wins inside the octagon when he became the first man to finish Carlos Leal with strikes in their welterweight bout. Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was a massive betting underdog for the fight, but the 41-year-old disproved all that in a mere 42 seconds when he cracked Leal clean and instantly shut the lights out, sending the crowd, occupied by former UFC champ Islam Makhachev, into an absolute frenzy. "The King of Kung Fu" is a threat to do that to anyone he shares that cage with. Can he turn this run into something that will get him a ranked fight? That is obviously the goal, but even if he falls short of it, he will make it fun. 2. Petr Yan should get a title shot Petr Yan put on another clinic to turn back the surging Marcus McGhee and stake his claim for the next title shot in the bantamweight division. The former champ has put together three consecutive victories since a 1-4 drought that looks much worse on paper than it was in reality, all beginning with his infamous title disqualification loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273 in April 2022. If Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) ever truly fell out of form, which is arguable, then he's certainly returned to being at or near his peak. It feels like the right time to give him what he asked for, and that's an opportunity to regain the belt against the winner of champ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen, who meet in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas. The stars seem to align well for him, especially if Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) wins and continues his quest to be an ultra-active champion. Yan has the most deserving resume, but he did lose a lopsided fight to "The Machine" in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023. If Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) wins, then Yan might have a great chance if the new champ shoos away a rematch with Dvalishvili and wants to avenge his unanimous decision loss to Yan in an interim title bout at UFC 267 in October 2021. Either way, Yan is in a solid position, and the same one he would've been in if he faced a more highly-ranked and more challenging opponent than he got from McGhee. 1. Who won Reinier de Ridder vs. Robert Whittaker? The main event between middleweight contenders Reinier de Ridder and Robert Whittaker came down to the wire after five compelling rounds, and in the end two of three judges felt the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder deserved the nod. What was a fascinating matchup on paper played out in reality, with de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) making a true effort to get the fight to the ground and finish it early before falling back into major success on the feet. He seemingly had Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) hurt multiple times, but Whittaker had the biggest moment of the 25 minutes when he floored de Ridder with a massive punch and was on the doorstep of a stoppage. He couldn't push through it and halt the fight in that third-round sequence, though, and that allowed de Ridder to regain his wits and show his resiliency. To get his hand raised is validating for de Ridder, and continues his dream UFC run. It's hard to say he doesn't deserve it, though any frustration from Whittaker is valid, especially knowing he was probably one good punch away from taking the judges out of the equation. The result leaves many questions around Whittaker and his future after expressing his desire to make one more title run. It stings on many levels, but in his wake a true contender is born in de Ridder. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Abu Dhabi takeaways: Petr Yan's rightful claim to a title shot
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 9 takeaways: Petr Yan's rightful claim to a title shot
What mattered most at UFC on ABC 9 on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Here are a few post-fight musings … 4. Steven Nguyen's historic beatdown Steven Nguyen broke a UFC record that stood for the better part of a decade on the preliminary card when he battered Mohammad Yahya and scored a new all-time single-fight high with six knockdowns landed. Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped Yahya early in the first round and didn't relent for the next 10 minutes. It could've been stopped multiple times, but referee Jason Herzog gave Yahya every chance to show his heart and durability. Yahya had a flash of an unthinkable turnaround early in the second frame, but then it was right back to Nguyen hurting him until the frame expired and the doctor waved it off. Of the thousands of fights that haven taken place over the course of UFC history, only two fighters, Forrest Petz in 2006 and Jeremy Stephens in 2017, landed five total knockdowns in a single bout. Nguyen set a new bar with his performance, and it might be another decade or more until we see something like that happen again. It's truly rare. 3. Muslim Salikhov can still thump Muslim Salikhov made it three straight knockout wins inside the octagon when he became the first man to finish Carlos Leal with strikes in their welterweight bout. Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was a massive betting underdog for the fight, but the 41-year-old disproved all that in a mere 42 seconds when he cracked Leal clean and instantly shut the lights out, sending the crowd, occupied by former UFC champ Islam Makhachev, into an absolute frenzy. "The King of Kung Fu" is a threat to do that to anyone he shares that cage with. Can he turn this run into something that will get him a ranked fight? That is obviously the goal, but even if he falls short of it, he will make it fun. 2. Petr Yan should get a title shot Petr Yan put on another clinic to turn back the surging Marcus McGhee and stake his claim for the next title shot in the bantamweight division. The former champ has put together three consecutive victories since a 1-4 drought that looks much worse on paper than it was in reality, all beginning with his infamous title disqualification loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273 in April 2022. If Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) ever truly fell out of form, which is arguable, then he's certainly returned to being at or near his peak. It feels like the right time to give him what he asked for, and that's an opportunity to regain the belt against the winner of champ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen, who meet in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas. The stars seem to align well for him, especially if Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) wins and continues his quest to be an ultra-active champion. Yan has the most deserving resume, but he did lose a lopsided fight to "The Machine" in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023. If Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) wins, then Yan might have a great chance if the new champ shoos away a rematch with Dvalishvili and wants to avenge his unanimous decision loss to Yan in an interim title bout at UFC 267 in October 2021. Either way, Yan is in a solid position, and the same one he would've been in if he faced a more highly-ranked and more challenging opponent than he got from McGhee. 1. Who won Reinier de Ridder vs. Robert Whittaker? The main event between middleweight contenders Reinier de Ridder and Robert Whittaker came down to the wire after five compelling rounds, and in the end two of three judges felt the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder deserved the nod. What was a fascinating matchup on paper played out in reality, with de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) making a true effort to get the fight to the ground and finish it early before falling back into major success on the feet. He seemingly had Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) hurt multiple times, but Whittaker had the biggest moment of the 25 minutes when he floored de Ridder with a massive punch and was on the doorstep of a stoppage. He couldn't push through it and halt the fight in that third-round sequence, though, and that allowed de Ridder to regain his wits and show his resiliency. To get his hand raised is validating for de Ridder, and continues his dream UFC run. It's hard to say he doesn't deserve it, though any frustration from Whittaker is valid, especially knowing he was probably one good punch away from taking the judges out of the equation. The result leaves many questions around Whittaker and his future after expressing his desire to make one more title run. It stings on many levels, but in his wake a true contender is born in de Ridder.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
LFA 213 video: Loai Abushaar's vicious knee enters Knockout of the Year discussion
The brutal knockouts have come hot and heavy in 2025, and on Saturday at LFA 213, Loai Abushaar landed one that will need at least some shine at year's end. Less than a minute into the opening round of his lightweight bout at Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore, Calif., Abushaar (5-1) timed the absolute perfect stepping right knee that landed clean to the chin of Edmund Kwan (4-1), instantly putting him out cold with a hard fall to the canvas. It all happened in a mere 51 seconds, with Abushaar handing Kwan his first career loss in a highlight-reel manner. Check out the replay of the nasty knockout below (via X): With the victory, Abushaar kept his 100 percent career stoppage rate in tact and made his back-to-back victories since his lone career blemish in August 2023. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: LFA 213 video: Vicious knee enters Knockout of the Year discussion
