Dustin Poirier gets 100% real about potential changes to BMF title fight rules, proposes bringing back "ten-minute first rounds"
Dustin Poirier is set to face Max Holloway for the BMF title at UFC 318 on July 19, 2025. Ahead of that, Poirier has expressed his desire to see some changes in the rules for BMF title fights.
The inaugural BMF title bout was held at UFC 244 between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, with the latter winning and taking home the one-of-a-kind belt. BMF title bouts have become incredibly popular over the years. Most recently, at UFC 300, Holloway defeated Justin Gaethje by knockout to claim the belt.
While 'The Diamond' readies to battle for the belt in his next fight, he discussed the rules of BMF title fights on The Ariel Helwani Show and suggested:
"Bro, bring back 10-minute first rounds, love that. And also, if we do it that way, let's go really far back, let's do a 10-minute first round, and you judge the fight as a whole, not round by round. At the end of every fight, I would rather the judge say, Which guy would be walking out of the octagon? Or which girl would it be?... That's what I want."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (14:05):
Dustin Poirier reflects on why he contemplated retirement
Dustin Poirier's upcoming fight against Max Holloway is set to be his retirement match, marking the end of his over a decade-long journey in mixed martial arts.
During the aforementioned interview, 'The Diamond' discussed the moments when he considered retiring from the sport and the reasons behind those thoughts, saying:
"In the moment [at UFC 302], I felt like this might be it, this is it... I didn't officially announce my retirement, but I felt like this was it. I came short of another title fight. I'm never going to get another fight. I have to win 10 in a row to probably get another one, and I don't think I have it in me to go through what it's going to take to get another one."
He added:
'I've been doing this for a long time... I still have it in me to fight. It's just chasing that title and climbing back up the ladder once again. I'm getting old, my body hurts. I can't train like I used to, but I can still scrap. So, I just want to have a great fight and go out on my terms." [6:41]