Dustin Poirier recalls requesting UFC release in 2019

Dustin Poirier is in the final days of his legendary UFC career, a run that could have ended years ago.

It’s difficult to imagine “The Diamond” competing for a promotion other than the one he’s called home for the past 13 years, but that’s exactly the scenario that Poirier contemplated back in 2019. Poirier has long been among the UFC’s most popular fighters, which has also led to complications at the negotiating table.

According to Poirier, the business side of MMA has never been easy, and that meant weighing options outside of the UFC once upon a time.

“I’ve had to fight and push back with everything I’ve ever got from the UFC,” Poirier said on The MMA Hour. “It’s been a war zone behind the scenes every contract, every fight.”

Asked what was the biggest negotiating struggle he can recall, Poirier said he requested a release before eventually landing a fight with Max Holloway for an interim lightweight title at UFC 236.

“Probably when I was asking to be released, before I fought Max in 2019 in Atlanta,” Poirier said. “I don’t remember exactly but they were offering fights that I didn’t want. I don’t know exactly but I was asking to be released then. I ended up getting the Max fight, so it worked out.

“Yeah [I was unhappy], and the people they were offering me, where my contract was. I don’t remember exactly but that was the closest I was to being [done].”

Poirier confirmed that he would have walked away had the opportunity not come along, but he was grateful that he made the decision to stay when the Holloway bout was booked. The two went on to deliver a five-round classic and Poirier defeated Holloway by unanimous decision to finally claim a UFC belt.

Though Poirier fell short of unifying the titles against Khabib Nurmagomedov in his next fight, he continued to line up marquee opponents including a recent two-fight series with past opponent Conor McGregor, a BMF title bout with Justin Gaethje, and lightweight title shots against Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.

In the midst of all that, Poirier again made headlines for a dispute with the UFC, this time because of a miscommunication over his fight with Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299. Poirier publicly shot down the announcement of the fight, stating in no unclear terms that contracts had yet to be signed, but eventually pens were put to paper.

It was not an easy process.

“We battled on that one, too,” Poirier said. “[Saint Denis]... I was really out of the fight. I canceled my wife’s flight, we had to rebook everything. I was going home. I was leaving Florida. I waited too long. I was already in camp. I flew myself out. I was in camp a few weeks at the time and it just came to a head. I was like, today’s the day.”

“We fought,” Poirier said, declining to elaborate further. “The contracts got signed and we fought.”