Dustin Poirier weighs up options following UFC 269 loss: ‘I’m not sure what’s next’

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier appears to remain non-committal on his immediate fighting future following his undisputed title challenge loss to Charles Oliveira last Saturday, admitting this Tuesday night that he’s unsure what is next for him.

Poirier, who headlined UFC 269 last weekend, suffered the snapping of his three-fight winning run, as well as falling at the final hurdle to achieve undisputed lightweight gold, after dropping a third round standing rear-naked choke loss to Charles Oliveira in the Brazilian’s first successful title defense.

Despite starting brightly against the Sao Paulo native – which even included a right hook knockdown for the Lafayette challenger, Poirier was stuck on bottom for the entirety of the second round, finding himself on the receiving end of blunt elbows from the top.

Early in the third frame, the Louisianan gave up his back at the fence after Oliveira secured a bodylock, before finding himself wrapped in a standing rear-naked choke – forcing him to submit. 

Off the back of the submission loss, Poirier explained how he was unsure if he would be continuing his fighting career, admitting that he needs to pose the question of making a third title siege to himself in the coming days, but also hinted at a welterweight rise.

“Like I’ve been saying all week, nothing I’ve done on this journey has been in vein,” Poirier said to assembled media post-UFC 269. “Everything me and my family has is because of fighting. A lot of education in my life is from these moments, learning about myself. It just sucks, man. I really worked heard and sacrificed a lot. Put myself in a position where I thought I was going to be the world champion. And I knew I was either going to come out here and be the world champion, or fall daring greatly. And sometimes this is what happens.”

“I think there’s fights at 155 and welterweight still for me,” Poirier explained. “I just don’t want to think about who or what’s next. It’s been a crazy year for me, three big fights. I’ll just go home with my family. I’m healthy, they’re healthy. Like I said, man: I’m not a stranger to this position. Nobody wants to be used to losing, but I’m used to learning. It is what it is, that’s the fight game. Try not to sit up here at another press conference and cry in front of you guys, but I’m going to continue to do what I do. Be a father, try to be a beacon of light keep grinding.”

Tonight, however, Poirier appears still yet to make a definitive decision on his fighting future, tweeting; “Not sure what’s next..” amid speculation that he may call time on his fighting career following his latest title setback. 

Prior to his title challenge loss to Oliveira, Poirier had avenged a 2014 loss to former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor in January on ‘Fight Island’ – before scoring a trilogy rubber match win over the Dubliner in a bad-blooded July showdown at UFC 264, after McGregor fractured his left tibia at the end of the opening frame, resulting in a doctor’s stoppate TKO win for Poirier.

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.