Dustin Poirier's attempts to capture undisputed UFC gold at UFC 302 ended in failure, but his efforts drew praise from former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The bout wasn't the one-sided loss everyone had predicted ahead of UFC 302. Instead, 'The Diamond' gave a good account of himself.
In doing so, Poirier became just the second fighter to truly push Makhachev to the limit, with former featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski being the first. 'The Last Stylebender' watched the UFC 302 main event from the comfort of his own home, and commended Poirier's efforts.
Adesanya shared his live reaction to Poirier's bout on his official YouTube channel. He said:
"That was f***ing impressive, though, man. What a way to go out, though. Like, I mean he took him to the end, fifth round. Won some rounds. So, if he's going to retire after this, f***, what a way to go out."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Check out Israel Adesanya's reaction to Dustin Poirier's UFC 302 loss (9:07):
It was a gutsy performance from 'The Diamond,' in what was likely his last-ever crack at an undisputed title in the UFC. However, he fought as well as anyone could have against an opponent as well-rounded as Makhachev. While he conceded an early takedown and was dominated in round one, he didn't give up.
Poirier dug deep and drew upon the training he had undergone in preparation for Makhachev, and held his own against the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the sport. Unfortunately for Poirier, he ultimately lost as Makhachev secured one of the sharpest D'Arce chokes in UFC history.
Dustin Poirier is contemplating retirement after UFC 302
As Israel Adesanya suspected, Dustin Poirier was quick to reveal retirement as one of his options going forward. His title fight loss at UFC 302 was his third failure to capture undisputed UFC championship gold, with his prior attempts having come against Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Poirier, however, claimed that with little-to-no hope of earning a fourth crack at the undisputed title, he has nothing else to accomplish in MMA, and does not want to keep fighting if he doesn't have a clear goal in front of him.