Dustin Poirier appears to be gearing up for one final fight as he promised fans he is having a ‘last dance’.
And the famously hard-hitting lightweight is going to bring the violence, telling his followers on social media that “there will be blood”. Poirier is a former interim world champion, but lost all three of his efforts to win the undisputed belt.
He has defeated the likes of Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway, leaving behind a legacy of brutal wars and memorable fights. However, after losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, he appears to have no more paths to winning gold and looks set to hang up the gloves after one more fight.
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Dustin Poirier confuses fans as he vows to make violent retirement from MMA
In a series of tweets, Dustin Poirier has spoken to fans about his upcoming fight plans. He previously made it clear that he feels he has another fight left, despite the feeling being that a loss to Makhachev in Newark would see him call it a day.
He performed impressively and pushed the dominant champion almost the entire distance, but was unable to get a foothold and submitted in the final round. However, that still places him among the best lightweights in the world, and there are multiple big-money fights available for his career.
“Got something planned for you,” he wrote to his 1.2million followers last night. “Hold on. I’m coming.” He then replied to a fan who said “uno mas” with “The last dance. I promise ya.”
He then sent a confusing message that seemingly referred to a fight, which read “There will be blood. See you soon.” However, he finished the tweet with a series of eggplant emojis, leaving readers to question what exactly he meant.
“Brother, what is with the eggplant emojis?” Fans asked, with one writing: “Should I be excited or worried? The eggplant emoji isn’t helping.” Another theorised that he pressed the wrong button, joking: “That’s not the pistol emoji bro.”
Dustin Poirier opens up about why he is returning to the octagon
After his loss to Makhachev, Poirier was unclear about his plans for retirement in the octagon. He seemed to indicate that he would retire, but refused to completely commit, and has now completely backtracked.
“Could be uno mas, could be dos mas,” Poirier told Ariel Helwani in October after confirming that he certainly would not be handing up the gloves. “My goal is to get an event here in Louisiana. Maybe New Orleans… That’s my goal.
“I’m not asking for a favorable fight, I wanted the hardest fights I can get. I asked for Justin Gaethje, I asked for [Dan] Hooker – I’m healed up. I did a bunch of therapy sessions on my knee, my nose, I can’t breathe, but everything else is good.”
Dustin Poirier wants hometown fight to close out legendary career
A key factor for Poirier when it comes to his retirement fight is location. Having fought around the world, he is now keen to compete at home in Louisana, where he has always been a beloved figure throughout his career.
“To be completely content, I’d love to lay my gloves down at home and never fight again,” he added. “Finish here in front of my Louisiana friends and family, the people who have been supporting me since I was 17 years old through fighting, and to go out on top.
“To show I’m leaving, but I still have it, that’s important to me too…I want to beat these guys, have tough fights, and walk away on top like ‘This guy left when he was still on top of his game’. That’s how I want my story to be.”
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