Eyeing Last UFC Fight, Dustin Poirier Demands Dana White & Co. to Make 4-Man BMF Tournament Before Retirement

Dustin Poirier has an unorthodox idea to try to get his hands on the BMF title as he nears the end of his career. The lightweight superstar, of course, lost to Justin Gaethje in their BMF title bout last year. ‘The Human Highlight’ caught ‘The Diamond’ with a brutal head kick to win the belt, which he later lost to Max Holloway on UFC 300.

Now, Poirier, in an interview with Sirius XM, has proposed that the UFC go back to its roots and have a one-night, four-man tournament for the largely ceremonious title. Let’s take a look at what poirier has been asking for.

This is Poirier’s idea:

• A single night
• Tournament structure
• Featuring four fighters
• There’d be two semifinals
• And winners progress to the final
• The winner in the final would be the new BMF

And who will be in the title picture? Of course, Poirier has his picks ready.

• The title holder Holloway [26-7 (12 KOs, 2 subs)]
• Poirier himself [30-9 1 NC (15 KOs, 8 subs)]
• Gaethje [25-5 (20 KOs, 1 sub)]
• #5 ranked lightweight dynamo Dan Hooker [24-12 (11 KOs, 7 subs)]

Indeed, the UFC in its initial days started as a tournament held entirely on one night, where fighters fought multiple opponents before they could reach the final and be crowned the winner. And this idea will certainly go down well with the fans, who will get to see three of the most exciting fighters in the promotion along with the dark horse in the form of Dan Hooker fight on the same night. Interestingly, Poirier is not the first one to look for a BMF fight.

Since Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz fought for the inaugural BMF title in 2019, crowning Masvidal as the baddest fighter in the game, there have been several athletes in the UFC looking to recreate that status. Conor McGregor has expressed interest in the belt before. But What Dana White has to say about the 4-man BMF fight? Let us not forget an interesting fact here.

In launching the BMF, Dana white did listen to the ask of his fighter. Nate Diaz it was. Back at UFC 241 in August of 2019, Diaz had returned to the Octagon for the first time since his two blockbuster fights with Conor McGregor in 2016. He won the first he won via submission, in the rematch he lost via majority decision. Diaz earned a three-round decision win over former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

Then calling out Jorge Masvidal, Diaz said, “Now we’re fighting for the ‘Baddest Mother(expletive) in the game’ belt and that’s mine (and) I’d like to defend it against Jorge Masvidal.” White and the UFC did not let it go. In a press conference in 2019, White had shed light on it.

“So you know when Nate did his interview that night, he basically said this is for the baddest m—–f—– in the game. So you know this is one of those fights that after that interview, it started to build a life of its own through the fans and the media. We didn’t seriously start talking about this fight until a couple of weeks later in a matchmaking meeting. And I said to my guys, ‘Listen, tell me if I’m crazy, but what do you think about us actually having a BMF belt?’ My guys loved it. And we started talking about it,” White had said. So the BMF was born. And White being White, made it grand.

As Masvidal and Diaz fought each other at the UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden, The Rock was present to give the belt away. Masvidal eventually won it by technical knockout after three rounds when the cageside physician concluded the fight because of a deep laceration above one of Diaz’s eyes. Much to the delight of the fans, this time also seemed to have loved the idea.

When he was informed about Poirier’s demand on Tuesday at a press conference, the UFC president said, “Sounds fun. Never thought about it, but … I love it” So, never say never! But can Dustin Poirier handle that?

Poirier is coming off a loss to Islam Makhachev in their UFC 302 lightweight title clash earlier this year. And with over thirty fights in the UFC alone, ”The Diamond’ has considerable miles on his body. This is why the Louisiana native has indicated that he is going to call it quits pretty soon, and a four-man tournament with three other legends would be the most memorable way he could go out. But there is one question on everyone’s mind since UFC 302.

Who will Dustin Poirier’s next opponent be?

Dustin Poirier has said that he would have retired if he won the title on UFC 302. But since he lost, and would be leaving a lot of money on the table by quitting now, he wants to continue fighting. In the same Sirius XM interview, ‘The Diamond’ even claimed that he has about half a dozen fights still left in him.

But, since fighting that much would undoubtedly lead to a whole lot of strain on his body (not to mention his brain), Poirier is determined to quit while he is ahead. Even though he didn’t say so in the interview (or indeed anywhere else), there is a strong implication that the former interim champ is looking for one final fight.

Poirier has revealed that he will probably fight in his home state of Louisiana sometime in early to mid-2025. Whether or not it is his last fight remains to be seen, as does the fact of who his opponent will be there. Of course, the best candidate is Justin Gaethje, who has had two memorable clashes with the Lightweight veteran, with their scores level at 1-1 at the moment.

And a trilogy to conclude their rivalry once and for all will go down very well with the fans. On the other hand, Conor McGregor, too has unfinished business with Poirier, whom he has fought thrice, and would be an excellent next opponent. A BMF clash with Holloway (sans the tournament format and the two other fighters) is also a possibility. Who do you think Poirier should fight next?