Dustin Poirier‘s third attempt at capturing lightweight gold fell short as Islam Makhachev made sure that his 155 lbs belt remained with him. After briefly hinting at retirement, Poirier emphasized that he has one more fight left in his career before ultimately concluding what is likely to be a UFC Hall of Fame career. ‘The Diamond’ also has been alluding to a “retirement dance” for some time now, but the opponent is yet to be decided. Scouser lightweight Paddy Pimblett’s recent comment about Poirier, followed by the cryptic quote from the former interim lightweight champion, gives us a hint about what might be about to happen.

In a conversation with the media, ‘The Baddy’ emphasized that he was not impressed by Islam Makhachev’s fifth-round D’Arce choke victory at UFC 302 against Dustin Poirier. The British fighter believes that Khamzat Chimaev’s submission victory over Robert Whittaker should have won the Submission of the Year award, “Poirier’s been submitted multiple times before. I would submit Dustin Poirier. No one submitted Bobby Green in like fucking 12 years or whatever it was.”

Paddy Pimblett’s words about Dustin Poirier can be considered the start of a new rivalry, especially considering that the British fighter has been seeking the top brass of the promotion off late, especially since his emphatic win over Bobby Green at UFC 304. Interestingly, Dustin Poirier appears to be in the mood to clash against someone as well. Through his Instagram handle, Poirier added a cryptic tweet that showcased that the fighter is willing to clash for the last time, “For Eva? Eva? Last dance.”

Before that, when a fan inquired about news on his upcoming on X, Dustin Poirier gave an optimistic yet brief response: “Soon,” Poirier wrote. Well, Poirier’s last battle was a defeat to Islam Makhachev and he has refused to end his career on a loss.

Dustin Poirier refuses to end his career ‘on a loss’

When you are one of the best lightweight fighters to have ever competed in the Octagon, fans naturally have high expectations. Dustin Poirier is not only a fan favorite but also the people’s champion according to some. Regardless, Poirier has clarified that he will not end his career on a losing streak. While having a conversation on the Anik & Florian podcast, Poirier emphasized that he wants to fight and get back to the victory column, “The shift needs to be internally, for what the motivation for fighting is,” said Poirier. One viable name is a former scheduled opponent who pulled out, Nate Diaz.

He further added, “The thing with Diaz is… I’m in contact with the UFC behind the scenes about my next moves all the time. We talk when I want to fight again, how bad are my injuries, things like that. And the last time I brought his name up, they didn’t want to talk about him, they didn’t want to do business. A lot of fans don’t know, behind the scenes, he’s such a struggle to deal with that I think they just don’t want to do it anymore. But if it came around, if that was something that was a reality, I 100 percent would take the fight right now, sign a contract today.”

Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett and many more fighters are incredible names for Dustin Poirier’s final fight, but who will the ‘Diamond’ end up facing? What are your thoughts on the speculation? State your opinion in the comments below.