"I Hate That" Daniel Cormier Reacts To Dustin Poirier Retirement Talks Before UFC 302

UFC’s former two-division champion, now a Commentator Daniel Cormier, openly shares his opinions on why Dustin Poirier’s retirement talks ahead of UFC 302 isn’t good for the Diamond. Daniel Cormier once found himself in the same situation during UFC 252, where he announced his retirement ahead of facing Stipe Miocic, whom he lost to via a unanimous decision in a trilogy bout. The 45-year-old fighter has been a full-time MMA analyst and has regularly appeared in UFC PPV since then. DC, advising his state-mate, said that Dustin needs to rethink his retirement at 35 regardless of the results of UFC 302 and shouldn’t repeat the mistake he made.

“I hate that, I honestly cannot stand that. I can’t stand hearing that it’s almost over for a guy that we all universally love and enjoy when he’s inside the octagon“
Daniel Cormier said

Dustin Poirier got another chance to get the lightweight gold after his Knockout win over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299. In his last two opportunities to get the title, Dustin lost both via submission and fighting the current pound-for-pound fighter, Islam Makhachev. The outcome of the upcoming fight is expected to be the same as that of the last two. Ahead of UFC 302, Daniel Cormier gave the reason why he doesn’t like fighters to put a timeline on their career, as life outside fighting is not all roses.

“I also hate it for another reason: I hate it for the idea that it could be almost over, and he recognizes that. I don’t like when athletes — because I did it myself, so I’m almost judging myself — I don’t love when athletes put a timeline, or a finishing point on a career that’s still actively going on. That is a hard thing to do, because I will tell you this right now: The life after the fight, while it may be hard to adjust to initially, when you look at it from the inside and you’re going through those training camps and everything’s so tough, and you’re exhausted, and you’re fighting one of the most dangerous people in the world, the other side seems very nice. The other side’s even better than you could ever imagine.”