Dustin Poirier “would love” to retire in the UFC but admits “I’m a prizefighter and the prize has to be right”

Dustin Poirier has been in the UFC since 2011 and he hopes he can retire with the promotion but isn’t ruling anything out.

In the past few years, free agency in MMA has been much bigger with marquee free agents like Michael Chandler leaving Bellator to sign with the UFC while Eddie Alvarez departed the UFC to sign with ONE Championship, and Cris Cyborg left the UFC to sign with Bellator among others. To only add to that, Nate Diaz has now become a free agent and Poirier admits he will be paying close attention to how that plays out and what Diaz gets.

“I feel like the UFC is the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. Of course, I would love to end my career with the UFC, but I’m a prizefighter and the prize has to be right,” Poirier said to Heavy Sports. “I think it’s great for the young fighters to see a guy like Nate who’s earned his keep in the company and fought his way to free agency and now can test the market and see what he’s really worth. When offers start coming in for him and those things become public, other fighters see what the going rate is or what other companies are willing to toss on the table. It only helps lift up the sport for everyone.”

At this time, it’s uncertain how many fights Dustin Poirier has left on his contract before he can test free agency. However, he is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 281 against Michael Chandler which will serve as his first fight since he suffered a submission loss to Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title last year.

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