The UFC lightweight division is going through a change of guard. And the first domino to fall seems to be Dustin Poirier. The UFC’s most vaunted division, of course, has been long dominated by vets like ‘The Diamond’, Justin Gaethje, and Charles Oliveira. But with Poirier announcing his retirement plans, the division is due for new blood taking over.

However, the thing is, we don’t even actually know if the first domino is falling because of all the uncertainty around Poirier’s swansong. Poirier, of course, had strongly indicated he was retiring in the post-fight Octagon interview after his UFC 302 loss to Islam Makhachev last year. However, the Louisiana native took a virtual U-turn at the post-fight presser, pointing out that he would be leaving a lot of money on the table if he retired right away.

This is why many fans believe that the former interim champ’s next fight will be his last. Indeed there are rumors that the UFC is looking to put on an event in Poirier’s home state of Louisiana for his farewell fight. But #9 ranked Beneil Dariush, who is interested in fighting him wants Poirier to tell fans exactly where he stands on his retirement.

“That would be great if it’s [a UFC Louisiana fight against Dustin Poirier is] an option. I’ll take it. If it’s his last fight, I’ll take it. But it’s like, you know, the guy says last fight, and then all of a sudden he’ll fight again. You never know with the last fights, it’s not that simple. And, you know, he’s always talking about how like, you know, ‘If I got that feeling, I’m going to fight again.’ So, well you’re sending mixed signals basically, so it’s hard to really read whether it’s going to be his last fight or not,” Dariush told ‘Inside Fighting’ in a recent interview.

Given Poirier’s flip-flopping on the issue of his retirement, it is very hard to disagree with Dariush. It may be that ‘The Diamond’ is taking things one fight at a time and doesn’t know if his next fight will be his last dance. But if that is the case, it was a bad move on his part to talk about retiring and create expectations that he won’t fulfill.

But as Dariush pointed out, it’s Poirier’s call and he should do what he feels is right. But a hyped main event fight against Poirier would be exactly what Dariush needs at the moment given.

Why Dustin Poirier may be the perfect next opponent for Beneil Dariush?

Beneil Dariush did not get to fight at UFC 311. ‘Benny’ was set to face an ascendant #10 ranked Renato Moicano at the Inglewood, California card. Until about two days before the event, when Moicano was slotted in for an injured Arman Tsarukyan in the main event and Dariush found himself without an opponent.

This was certainly disappointing for ‘Benny’. After all, the Iran-born lightweight is looking to make his way back to the top five and hopefully a title shot. Dariush was unbeaten in his eight fights between 2018 and 2022 but has lost two fights in a row since then. He desperately needs a big win against a big name to regain the momentum.

‘Benny’ is well aware of this and has two names, besides Poirier, on his mind. “I think, you know, if I beat Dustin Poirier, I’m pretty much back in title contention. I think the same thing with Max Holloway, maybe. Not so much with Michael Chandler, but I think it still puts me in a pretty good place,” Dariush said.

Beating Poirier at UFC Louisiana will probably be the best-case scenario for him. What do you think about Beneil Dariush’s take on Dustin Poirier’s retirement?