"I'm approaching 18 years of fighting" - Dustin Poirier opens up on retirement with title fight against Islam Makhachev nearing

Dustin Poirier claimed there's a possibility of his upcoming fight being his last before retirement.

On March 9, Poirier added to his legendary resume by halting Benoit Saint-Denis's momentum with a second-round knockout. A month later, fellow lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan turned down a quick turnaround for a title shot, leading to 'The Diamond' receiving the opportunity against Islam Makhachev.

Poirier's opportunity to become an undisputed UFC champion will take place on June 1 in the UFC 302 main event. Regardless of the outcome against Makhachev, he has teased retirement soon by saying this during an interview with Fight Bananas, which was transcribed by MMA Knockout:

"I just have a lot of stuff that kinda gets put on hold, so to say, for me to chase these dreams and stuff like that... I'm approaching 18 years of fighting, and I wanna become the world champion and live my life, you know?"

Poirier continued:

"It could be [my last fight]. I haven't made an official decision yet, but it could be. I've said this over and over again, I still have a lot of tread on the tires. I can beat these young guys - I just did it. But how much do I want to give to this sport, because you don't ride for free."

Watch Dustin Poirier's entire interview with Fight Bananas below:

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Dustin Poirier shut down retirement talks with a knockout win against Benoit Saint-Denis

Dustin Poirier's previously mentioned comments suggest he could retire with a loss against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. With that said, fans shouldn't overanalyze his physical condition or mindset heading into the undisputed lightweight title fight, as 'The Diamond' was recently in this position and silenced the doubters.

Heading into UFC 299, Poirier had similar things to say about potentially retiring in the near future after being in the game for nearly two decades. He later told the media his comments were being blown out of proportion before knocking out Benoit Saint-Denis to earn a title shot.

Therefore, it should be noted that Poirier seems to be going one fight at a time. Maybe he will retire after UFC 302. Maybe he will shock the world to become the new UFC lightweight champion. Only time will tell.