Khabib Urges Poirier to Retire After One More Fight
Former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov said on the Dec. 16, 2024 episode of Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo’s “Pound 4 Pound” podcast that Dustin Poirier should stop fighting after one more bout. “I think Poirier can beat Charles (Oliveira), and I think Poirier has to stop fighting. He’s finished,” Nurmagomedov said. The comments followed Poirier’s fifth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev in June 2024.
Nurmagomedov also grouped Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson, Poirier and himself as “old school” names and said they should stop fighting. That was his opinion, not an announcement on the other athletes’ behalf. Nurmagomedov had retired after submitting Gaethje in October 2020 in his final title defense; he said he promised his mother it would be his last fight after his father died. The promotion confirmed his retirement in March 2021.
Poirier later chose to take one final fight. On July 19, 2025, Max Holloway defeated him by unanimous decision at the New Orleans event, and Poirier retired afterward. Nurmagomedov’s “finished” remark was a blunt assessment in 2024; Poirier still made the final walk he had planned before leaving the sport.
Sources: Pound 4 Pound, Dec. 16, 2024; Nurmagomedov–Gaethje result; Nurmagomedov’s retirement confirmation; Poirier–Holloway results.
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Tags: MMA
