00:00Poirier could come out of retirement. Dustin Poirier has hinted that he
00:05could be lured back to the Octagon for a tiebreaker against Justin Gaethje, following the last
00:10interim title win at UFC 324 against Patti Pimblett.
00:15Poirier had seemingly closed the chapter on his career after a unanimous decision defeat
00:19to Max Holloway.
00:20But the prospect of settling this rivalry may be too good.
00:25The chatter began when former fighter Josh Thompson tagged Poirier
00:30on social media, suggesting that a third meeting with Gaethje is the only right way.
00:35Poirier's response suggested he may return.
00:40For that one, and only that one, I'd lace them up again, Dustin said.
00:45Over the past eight years, the two lightweights have shared 31 minutes in the cage.
00:50with neither fighter able to claim a clear edge.
00:53The 2018 fight was a grueling
00:55battle in which Poirier broke Gaethje down and secured a fourth round TKO.
01:00The BMF bout in 2023 saw Gaethje even the rivalry at UFC 291.
01:05landing a head kick that knocked Poirier out in the second round.
01:10In the initial trilogy, Gaethje is currently the interim champion
01:13and awaiting a bout with Ilya Tepuria.
01:15But a third fight with Poirier is widely viewed as a legacy matchup that could generate more
01:20pay-per-view interest than a standard title defense.
01:23Before this weekend, Poirier
01:25Gaethje had been vocal about the difficulty of life after fighting.
01:28It's just weird.
01:30It feels weird being a civilian.
01:32I miss it every day, man.
01:34I do.
01:35I feel like some days I'm like, I can beat these guys.
01:38Then some days I'm like,
01:40I made the right decision.
01:42It's a constant tug of war in my head.
01:45Some days I wake up thinking I'm doing exactly what I was supposed to do.
01:49This is what I do.
01:50This is where I'm supposed to be.
01:51This is where I'm supposed to be.
01:52This is where I'm supposed to be.
01:53This is where I'm supposed to be.
01:54Some days I wake up and man, I wish I had a fight
01:55to look forward to.
01:56The New Orleans thing was so special.
01:58It can never be done again like this.
02:00But every day I'm battling myself about wanting to fight.
02:04When I laid the gloves down,
02:05I wanted to be done.
02:07Just trying to find what fills that void, man.
02:09Poirier said.
02:10Poirier said.
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