Dustin Poirier hasn’t settled into retirement just yet.
On July 19, 2025, UFC dedicated an entire pay-per-view for the retirement of Poirier, which saw him lose an excellent bout against former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway. Though that’s likely not how Poirier wanted to end his UFC career, Dustin promised that he wouldn’t step back into the octagon again.
Poirier revealed during an interview with NBC why he wanted to stop fighting and it came down to him wanting to prioritize family.
“Me and my wife have been together for a long time, since before I was fighting, so she’s been on this whole journey with me,” Poirier told NBC News last week. “She’s been asking me to stop fighting for a long time, and so has my daughter.
I want to be there for my family for the long run,” he said. “I want to watch my daughter get married and always be there for her, not just physically, but mentally, too. I want to leave with my faculties. This isn’t good for you. Getting kicked and kneed and punched in the head for 18 years isn’t good for you.”
But that transition away from the octagon hasn’t been an easy one. Poirier isn’t the first fighter to retire. And more often than not, fighters end up walking back their retirements because fighting has been their livelihood for a good portion of it.
Poirier isn’t walking back retirement, but he’s certainly struggling to deal with it right now. In fact, the transition has been so hard that he says that a part of him has died.
He then got a ton of messages from fans saying that they miss him too. He showed love and respect back to his fans by saying that he missed them as well. It’s only been three months since his retirement so it’s natural that he’s still having a hard time coping with something that he’s been doing for over 15 years.
Poirier hasn’t fully left the MMA world as he’s an analyst and commentator. He made his debut a month after UFC 318 and he remains regularly active behind the desk. I’ll definitely take time for Poirier to adjust to his new life especially since he’s still a prominent figure in the sport, but hopefully, he'll get use to his new role and continues enjoying his time with family.