Dustin Poirier has hinted several times that his bout for the lightweight title against champion Islam Makhachev might be his final bout before retirement. If he defeats Makhachev, widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, it would be an incredible way to go out after a stellar career that probably isn't appreciated nearly enough.
Poirier has had nine fights against seven opponents who are currently ranked in the UFC's Top 15 at lightweight. He's gone 7-2 with five finishes in those bouts against the best fighters in the world. He's a slam dunk Hall of Famer regardless of what happens on Saturday when he meets Makhachev for the lightweight belt in the main event of UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
It hasn't been an easy run, though, as evidenced by his last two outings. At UFC 291, he faced Justin Gaethje for the BMF title in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a rematch of a 2018 bout he'd won by fourth-round KO. Poirier went into that fight on a high, having won four of his last five, including two victories over Conor McGregor. But Gaethje caught Poirier with a head kick and stopped him in the second.
He returned at UFC 299 in Miami to face Benoit Saint Denis, who had been on an impressive run, and he knocked him out cold.
That range of emotions can be difficult to handle, but few do it better than Poirier.
"It's crazy, man," he said of the ups and downs that come with facing the best of the best on a regular basis. "It's fun. It's an experience. The whole fight journey I've had in my career has been an experience, man, because you know no matter how prepared you are, how hard you work, how good you are, I feel like I could beat anybody in the world. But when I get in there, it's a roll of the dice every time. Anything can happen in there. What a rush!"
He's held the UFC's interim lightweight title, which he won with a decision victory over Max Holloway, but he's never been the undisputed champion. It's the only thing that has eluded him in a brilliant career in which he's not only gone 30-8 overall and 21-7 in the UFC, but one in which he's set the standard for how to carry himself.
He's constantly given back to the needy and done random acts of kindness for those less fortunate. And he's always stepped up to take on the biggest challenges, no matter how good or scary they might be.
In just his last six fights, he's met McGregor twice, Oliveira, Michael Chandler, Gaethje and Saint Denis. Between them, there are two undisputed lightweight titles, an interim lightweight title, a featherweight title and a Bellator lightweight title.
Poirier is grounded and doesn't let his head swell about what he's done, but he grins when he says he's not impressed by that list of names. There is a reason for that, though: It's old hat to him.
"You can go back [farther than my last six] and it's still stacked with crazy names," Poirier said. "I fought the best of the best of my generation for sure. At 155 pounds, I fought the best guys in the world who were fighting at the time I was."
He might be fighting the best he's faced of all those tough guys on Saturday. He's fought Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former lightweight champion who is regarded as the greatest in the division's history and one of the three or four best ever regardless of weight. Makhachev is his protege and he's been heaping praise upon Makhachev, who in his last three fights alone has beaten Alexander Volkanovski twice and Oliveira.
Poirier knew something big was coming following his impressive win over Saint Denis, but he wasn't certain it would be a title shot. On April 13, he was making a personal appearance at a UFC 300 viewing party at The Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., when his phone rang. It was Hunter Campbell, the UFC's chief business officer.
He offered the fight against Makhachev while UFC 300 was still ongoing.
"It was special [to be offered a title fight] but I was just a few weeks out of a fight and fight camp, so to jump right back back into fight camp, it's a lot," he said. " ... I packed my bags that night, flew home the next morning, packed my bags again and flew right away to training camp. I didn't have time to waste."
All of that hard work and effort, the dedication, perseverance and blood, sweat and tears, will all culminate Saturday in yet another shot at the greatest prize in his sport: A UFC world title.
It may be his last fight, but he may later think better of it and continue on.
But if this is Poirier's swan song, what better way for the classy warrior to say goodbye than in a bout against a superstar opponent for all the marbles? Nothing could be more appropriate.