Dustin Poirier opens his heart months after retiring from MMA: 'I don't know who I am anymore'

Poirier focused before fighting in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Even with more than 40 professional fights, the months away from the octagon seem to be proving more difficult for him. Dustin poirier that all the years dedicated to MMA. In an interview on the podcast 'The Joe Rogan Experience' last Tuesday (17), the former fighter opened his heart to talk about the difficulties he experienced in adapting to life as a retired athlete after almost two decades.

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According to the former interim lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg), all his efforts and decisions over the years have been aimed at helping him evolve as a high-performance athlete. Given this situation, he admitted to being in a confused emotional state.

“Retiring is scary. The days are long, I have a lot of time. I don’t need to prepare to fight. I wouldn’t say I got depressed, but it was strange. It was like, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ I woke up every day for the last 20 years thinking about how to be a better fighter, what was new in the fitness world, how to become the champion. And suddenly, you put the gloves on the ground and become a civilian. It’s crazy,” said Diamante, who retired after UFC 318.

Dustin poirier admits he's struggling with retirement 😕

“I don't know who I am without fighting. Fighting was a cloud in my mind that never went away for 20 years. Now I wake up and it's gone. What do I do? I'm still trying to find out.” pic.twitter.com/ZVbXcnTdTs

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) March 18, 2026

Although his profession was only a part of his life, leaving behind a life completely tied to competitiveness in a sport as brutal as MMA has brought complications to Poirier, who has been looking for ways to overcome the situation.

“It’s like I’m relearning who I am. I don’t know who I am without fighting. I’m a father, a husband, many things. But fighting was a cloud in my mind that never dissipated for 20 years. Now I wake up and it’s gone. What do I do? I’m still trying to figure it out,” the former fighter concluded.

Dustin Poirier faced the best fighters of the last generation.

D. Poirier was interim lightweight champion. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook @ufc

Despite never having been a linear champion, Dustin poirier He built one of the most impressive and successful resumes in MMA history. Besides being the interim lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg), "The Diamond" also reached the top 5 in the featherweight division (up to 65,7 kg). With 14 years dedicated to the UFC, he shared the octagon with names of the caliber of... Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam makhachev e Charles of the BronxThe former athlete also has victories against Max Holloway, Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez and Justin gaethje.