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Dustin Poirier announces retirement match in New Orleans for BMF title (0:51)
Dustin Poirier joins Pat McAfee to announce his retirement match in New Orleans against Max Holloway for the BMF title. (0:51)
Brett OkamotoApr 25, 2025, 02:39 PM ET
- Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
One of the most iconic careers in MMA history will come to a close this summer, as UFC veteran Dustin Poirier will make his final walk to the Octagon on July 19.
Poirier, 36, will face Max Holloway for the BMF title at UFC 318 in New Orleans. Poirier announced the five-round bout on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday. The UFC specifically targeted New Orleans as a location for the pay-per-view event to allow Poirier to have his final fight in his home state.
"It's going to be my final fight." Poirier said on McAfee's show. "I'm going to lay the gloves down in Louisiana where it all started for me. The whole journey started there, and I'm just honored to have the UFC on the same page and the state of Louisiana on the same page to make all this work. I didn't know if it was going to all come together, but it did."
It will mark the third meeting between Poirier (30-9) and Holloway (26-8), dating back to 2012. They met as two up-and-coming featherweights in 2012, with Poirier submitting Holloway via arm-triangle choke in the first round at UFC 143. They met again for the interim lightweight championship in 2019. Poirier won again via decision.
Poirier's looming departure from the sport will mark the end of an era for the lightweight division. He has been a consistent presence in 155-pound title contention for nearly an entire decade. He holds notable wins against Conor McGregor (twice), Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Eddie Alvarez.
Poirier has already been involved in one BMF title fight. He suffered a knockout loss to Gaethje in a BMF appearance in 2023. He held the interim lightweight belt for five months in 2019. He's fought for the undisputed title three times, and up short against some of the best lightweights of all time in Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.
The Louisiana native was born in Lafayette, and he has not fought in the state of Louisiana since 2015. He was awarded the key to the city of Lafayette in 2021.
Holloway, of Waianae, Hawai'i, is coming off a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in a featherweight championship bout in October. The 33-year-old is moving up to 155 pounds permanently for the first time in his storied career. He has made one-off appearances at the weight class before, but now intends to take a full run at the lightweight title.
