Dustin Poirier Retires After Thrilling Trilogy Finale with Holloway

Shilpa Rajan July 29, 2025

Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier, one of the greatest lightweight fighters in UFC history, has officially announced his retirement. The 36-year-old stepped away from the sport following his bout against Max Holloway. He had revealed his retirement plans even before the fight was scheduled. This marked the third encounter between the two, this time competing for the symbolic UFC “BMF” belt.

After five rounds of exciting action, Holloway won the fight by unanimous decision and retained the belt. This was Holloway’s first win against Poirier in their three meetings. These two gave it all in the final fight. Holloway landed more strikes and eventually won the match.

A Rivalry Spanning Over a Decade

Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier fought each other for the first time in 2012. Both these fighters were in the featherweight division at that time. This meeting was held in UFC 143 at Las Vegas, Nevada. It took Poirier just three minutes and 23 seconds to win his 12^th fight. Poirier won this match by submission using a triangle armbar.

The second meeting between these two lightweight legends was held at UFC 236 in 2019. These two met at Atlanta for the interim Lightweight championship. This time Holloway lasted for five rounds. The Diamond won this fight by unanimous decision and became the interim Lightweight champion.

Holloway finally managed to get his win against Poirier in their final meeting at UFC 318. It was a long wait for the 33-year-old to get his first win against one of the best in the business.

A career to remember

Dustin ‘the diamond’ Poirier ended his career with 30 wins, 10 losses and one no contest. After seven wins in his seven amateur matches, a lot of doors opened for Dustin. He started his career with seven wins before losing his first fight against Danny Castillo. On January 1, 2011, Dustin made his UFC debut against Josh Grispi. He represented the featherweight division during that time.

Poirier won his first four fights in UFC. The Diamond then suffered two defeats in three contests. Suddenly, his record went from 12-1 to 13-3. One of the first biggest fights of Poirier’s career was against Conor McGregor at UFC 178. Conor got the better off his opponent and knocked him out in the first round. Dustin’s fifth loss came against Michael Johnson.

Dustin Poirier’s Path: Gold, Redemption, and a Fighter’s Spirit

In April 2019, Poirier won the interim UFC Lightweight championship by beating Max Holloway. He then got his title shot against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib handed Dustin his sixth defeat in the octagon.

Dustin Poirier got his revenge against Conor McGregor. Both met each other twice in 2021. Poirier knocked him out in the first match and won the next match after doctor stoppage. Before announcing his retirement, Dustin lost three of his five fights. These defeats towards the end spoiled his records but Dustin had already made a name for himself.

The Diamond recorded 15 knockout wins, eight by submission and seven by decision. He was a Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu.