Dana White on whether he wants to see Dustin Poirier fight again: “It’s not up to me"
UFC CEO Dana White shared his thoughts on Dustin Poirier's talks of retirement after losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. 'The Diamond' was submitted in Round 5, marking his third submission-defeat in title fights in the promotion.
With Poirier having maintained an attitude that any of his last three fights could be his last, there was a feeling among MMA fans that a defeat against Makhachev would spell the end of his career.
Following his loss, the Louisiana native said he felt as though he had fought for the final time. But he insisted that it would take some time for him to decide whether to lay the gloves down for good.
White appeared in front of the media following UFC 302, where he was asked if he would like to see the former interim lightweight champion fight again.
He said this:
"That's up to him, that's not up to me. That's up to him. He knows what he wants and doesn't want. He knows how he felt. He knows how he feels right now. That's all up to him. Listen, he's a star. He can stay around here as long as he wants to."
Watch Dana White discusses Dustin Poirier's future below (2:20):
Jon Jones thanks Dana White for declaring him the No.1 P4P fighter in the world
UFC CEO Dana White refused to crown Islam Makhachev the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport following his victory over Dustin Poirier. Instead, White doubled down on why Jon Jones is the sport's No.1 P4P fighter right now.
'Bones' only competed once since 2020, and while he is regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time by many fans, his recent inactivity caused most of those same fans to remove him from the top of the P4P rankings.
But after seeing White's comments about why Jones is still the current king of the sport, the heavyweight champion took to X to thank his boss. He wrote this:
"It felt awesome to get that level of recognition from the boss, the man that’s literally been here since UFC 1. I know the haters are not gonna like his comments but Dana’s a pretty hard person to argue with. Dana White has had a front row seat to my entire career, facts are facts."
See Jon Jones' post below: