Dustin Poirier’s wife seemingly blames the UFC for one missing piece of his career puzzle on MMA’s biggest stage.
Poirier will have his final dance at UFC 318 this Saturday when he makes the walk close to home at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
‘The Diamond’ announced his plans for a farewell fight after his last attempt at capturing the undisputed lightweight title 13 months ago, and that will come when Poirier retires at UFC 318 in a BMF title fight against familiar opponent Max Holloway.
While he has the chance to go out by adding the symbolic belt to his résumé, Poirier will conclude his career without having become undisputed king. In the eyes of his wife, that is due to a lapse in judgment from the UFC.
Dustin Poirier’s wife insists he should have been UFC lightweight champion after knocking out Conor McGregor
In a recent Instagram post, the ESPN MMA account posted DM replies after asking a number of notable names to share their best memories from Poirier’s UFC career. Joining the likes of Daniel Cormier and Jorge Masvidal in responding was the UFC 318 headliner’s wife, Jolie, who has been by his side throughout.
She highlighted Poirier’s shock knockout against McGregor in January 2021, and did not forget to reiterate her frustration at the lack of gold on the line.
“There’s so many it’s hard to choose from,” Jolie wrote.
“Probably seeing him win the belt against Max in 2019, then watching him knock out Conor in 2021 when everyone was looking past him. And he should’ve walked out with the undisputed 155 title that night since it was vacated lol #stillsalty”
Though the lightweight belt had not been officially vacated at the time, Khabib Nurmagomedov had announced his retirement three months prior after submitting Justin Gaethje in his final fight.
With that in mind, many shared Jolie’s thoughts and questioned why the promotion had not made the UFC 257 main event between Poirier and McGregor for the undisputed 155-pound title.
Alexander Volkanovski snubbed Dustin Poirier’s Conor McGregor wins
Poirier went on to add another victory over McGregor in their infamous trilogy fight, which ended in a gruesome broken leg for the Irishman. The two wins over the former champ-champ are among the most memorable in Poirier’s career.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, however, recently went in a different direction when assessing which of the Louisianan’s triumphs “stands out” above the rest.
Volkanovski pointed to Poirier’s KO against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 in Miami, comparing it to his own recent victory over a young up-and-comer to prove he still has gas in the tank.
“This one’s a bit tricky, because he has had so many bigger fights like (against) your Conor McGregors,” During a recent appearance on Fox Sports’ Main Event. “But one thing that stands out to me is Benoit Saint-Denis.
“I think that is one fight that actually stands out to me, just because it was coming off a bad loss where people would have thought, ‘Ah, he’s done.’ (Against) a hot prospect, a lot of hype on this guy.
“And just comes out and just — in wild fashion as well, like Dustin Poirier always does, gets the victory,” Volkanovski added. “That just means a lot because I’ve been in them situations. I just know how big that is for your career.
“For him to bounce back and get a title fight as well, incredible fight that was, and now finish with the BMF fight as well, I just think the bounce-back that far into his career and to still be at the top is just impressive. That one stands out to me.”