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Dustin Poirier is soaking in all the emotions ahead of the final fight of his career. Earlier this year, Poirier revealed that UFC 318 in his home state of Louisiana would be the final fight of his career.
“The UFC is coming back to New Orleans on July 19,” Poirier told ESPN’s Pat McAfee. “It’s going to be my final fight. I’m going to lay the gloves down in Louisiana, where it all started for me. The whole journey started there, and I’m honored to have the UFC and the state of Louisiana on the same page to make this work. I didn’t know if it was all going to come together, but it did.”
UFC CEO Dana White told the media that the organization was holding the fight in New Orleans to honor Poirier.
“Throughout the world, Dustin Poirier is a big star for us, He’s accomplished a lot in the sport. This is for him, to be honest with you. This is for him. He wanted to have his last fight and end his career in New Orleans so here we are.”
On Thursday, Poirier attended his final press conference as a fighter, and he got a bit emotional on stage.
During his faceoff against Holloway, Poirier could be seen getting teary-eyed while acknowledging the New Orleans fans.