UFC legend Dustin Poirier officially ended his career with a unanimous decision loss to BMF champion Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 318 on Saturday night, and while he’s at peace with his decision to step away, he’s still a little perturbed by the end result.
Poirier put together another instant classic in his final appearance in the Octagon, as he and Holloway had a five-round war with both of them scoring knockdowns throughout the fight. However, two judges scored the fight 49-46 for Holloway, and the third had it 48-47 in his favor as well.
During the post-fight press conference, Poirier admitted that he didn’t agree with the final scorecards.
“Obviously, I wanted to win,” Poirier said, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. “Max is a great fighter, a tough competitor. Just being inside the eye of the storm, it felt a lot closer to me. I really thought it might have been 2-2 going into the fifth [round]. Mike Brown checked the scorecards when we got to the locker room and I think the judges gave me different rounds.”
Poirier, who was fighting in his home state of Louisiana, got off to a tough start when Holloway knocked him down in the first round. He was hurt again in the second, but he survived and scored a knockdown of his own that sent the New Orleans crowd into a frenzy. It was so loud that the referee didn’t here the horn for the end of the round.
“I think all the judges gave him the second round. I thought I almost had him out,” Poirier added. “He hurt me, too, but I thought my shot when I followed up with elbows, I was cracking him. He told me in the medical tent, ‘Hey man, you had me out.’ We couldn’t hear the bell. Being in the fight, it felt a lot closer than that. When I heard the judges’ [scores], I was like no way. It was closer than that. Like the man says, it is what it is.”
Despite the disappointing loss, Poirier clarified that he’s glad to be ending his career on his own terms.
“I wanted to go show I can compete and make it close to where I can say look I’m still at the top of my game,” he said. “I’m going out because I want to. I wanted it to be a war and a drag-em-out fight.”
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