"How beautiful is this?" - Dustin Poirier shares mindset about retiring from MMA after Max Holloway BMF title fight at UFC 318

The mystery surrounding Dustin Poirier's retirement fight is over. He'll face Max Holloway at lightweight for the BMF title at UFC 318, and 'The Diamond' couldn't be happier. In a recent sit-down with WWE commentator and former NFL player Pat McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show, he expressed his satisfaction.

Unlike most fighters who refuse to retire and continue fighting long past their prime before old age and cumulative damage force them to walk away, Poirier is retiring in an exceptional position. He hasn't declined, is still competitive with the best of the best in the lightweight division, and still has wits about him. He said:

"I'm going out on my terms. I'm not getting squeezed out of this. I'm not letting the sport retire me. I'm retiring from the sport."

When McAfee pointed out that he too retired while still playing at a high-level in American Football, 'The Diamond' showed even more gratitude that his retirement will be for a championship belt, saying:

"How beautiful is this? I get to go out on top, potentially getting my hand raised, leaving the sport, retiring from the sport with a world championship belt on a pay-per-view. Come on, man."

Check out Dustin Poirier's thoughts on his retirement fight (2:39:35):

Poirier has been a part of the UFC roster for well over a decade, having made his promotional debut on the very first day of 2011. He has fought the who's who of the sport, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Charles Oliveira, and Islam Makhachev, to name a few.

While an undisputed title always eluded him, he did capture interim lightweight gold, and has wins over his division's best.

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Dustin Poirier has faced Max Holloway before and has already competed for the BMF title

Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway are more than familiar with each other. The two men first crossed swords at UFC 143 at featherweight, where Poirier submitted Holloway in round one with a triangle armbar. Years later, they clashed at UFC 236 in a Fight of the Night for the interim lightweight title.

Check out a highlight from Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway 2:

After five hard rounds, Poirier emerged victorious via unanimous decision. He has also competed for the BMF title before, losing to Justin Gaethje in their rematch via knockout at UFC 291.

Ironically, Gaethje subsequently lost the title at UFC 300 via knockout to Holloway, who now defends it against Poirier in their trilogy.