Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz remain tied to one of the UFC’s most persistent unfinished matchups, even years after their planned fight fell apart. The two were scheduled to meet at UFC 230 in 2018 at Madison Square Garden, but the bout was cancelled late in negotiations. This started a long-running dispute over who was responsible.
Poirier has said the fight collapsed because Diaz could not reach an agreement with the promotion, while the Stockton native has continued to argue that Poirier withdrew first due to a hip injury. That back-and-forth has followed both men through multiple stages of their careers.
Poirier officially retired after UFC 318 in July 2025, but he has repeatedly identified Diaz as the opponent most likely to bring him back for a one-off event. In September 2025, he suggested a 12-round boxing match under Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing concept, with the idea that a matchup against Diaz was a fight that never materialized during his active run.
Diaz, who remains a free agent, revisited the topic in February 2026 when he listed Poirier among potential opponents alongside Conor McGregor and Mike Perry. Diaz questioned Poirier’s willingness to take the matchup and called him a “pu**y.”
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Poirier responded with a short message aimed directly at Diaz, writing”
“Belt to a*s.”
Check out Dustin Poirier’s message below:
When Dustin Poirier explained the contract issue blocking a Nate Diaz boxing match
Dustin Poirier’s retirement after his loss to Max Holloway at UFC 318 in July 2025 did not end speculation about him competing again. In the months that followed, Poirier acknowledged the adjustment to life after the UFC and publicly discussed interest in a boxing match with longtime rival Nate Diaz.
However, he pointed to one major obstacle. Poirier revealed he still had several fights remaining on his UFC contract when he retired, meaning he was not free to pursue boxing independently.
In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, he said:
“I would love to whip him [Diaz] up, man, slap him around. But you know, when I retired from the UFC, I still had maybe four or five fights left on my contract. So I am not free to just go and box. I can’t.”
Edited by Abhishek Nambiar
