Dustin Poirier admits career is in a 'weird spot,' waiting for UFC offer that gets him nervous

LAS VEGAS – Dustin Poirier will be the first to say his fighting career is in a weird place.

Coming off a knockout loss, but still being one of the most known and exciting fighters on the UFC roster, Poirier (29-8 MMA, 21-7 UFC) is unsure what is the appropriate next step for his trajectory in the UFC. From title fights to blockbuster pay-per-views, Poirier has been through it all. This makes his standing in the UFC’s lightweight division a difficult one to map out.

“I’m in a weird spot,” Poirier told MMA Junkie. “This is the first time I’m in this position in my whole career: still at the top but kind of waiting for something big to happen.

“I kind of just always fought, fought, fought to try to climb and claw my way to big fights, and I feel like now I’m here. I’m also running businesses outside of fighting. I have a wine market in Louisiana, I have the hot sauce company, the bourbon company. I have a lot of things going on, me and my wife full time always setting goals and working with the foundation. So just really busy outside of the cage, too, but waiting for something to really pop out that I know. I was kind of in this position before the Gaethje fight, but when they called and said Gaethje, it got me nervous and excited to fight. When I hear a name that does that to me, then I’ll know.”

Poirier last fought in July at UFC 291. He was knocked out by Justin Gaethje in the main event, which served as a title fight for the BMF belt. Prior to that, he had stopped Michael Chandler in one of the best fights of 2022.

“The Diamond” is looking for something big next and is unsure what exactly that may look like. For now, he’ll just let his gut feeling guide him.

“I don’t know, but I know when they call with an offer and I hear the name and I feel that feeling, then that’s going to be the one,” Poirier said. “I just don’t know. I haven’t heard it yet.”