Dustin Poirier appears to be at peace with his decision to retire after acknowledging that there was a mentality switch during his final fight with Max Holloway at UFC 318 on Saturday night that signalled he had made the right call to hang up his gloves for good.
“I could’ve taken more chances but I was trying to protect myself at the same time and I never really fought like that before,” Poirier said on Mike Bohn’s, ‘Bohnfire’ podcast. “I would always put myself in harm’s way to land the big shots & this one I didn’t… and maybe that’s a sign that the decision I made was the right one.”
When asked if that shift was due to a fear of being finished badly in his final fight, or whether it was more about being concerned with the longer-term impact it could have on his health, Poirier admitted it was the latter.
“Self preservation,” Poirier said. “Get home to my family safe, that type of thing.”
After all the wars he’s been in over the years Poirier certainly had nothing left to prove this past weekend, and he still managed to put on one last entertaining fight before riding off into the sunset.
