Dustin Poirier says his UFC contract is stopping him from chasing a long-desired move into boxing, even after announcing his retirement from MMA.
Speaking about his situation, Poirier revealed that he remains tied to the promotion despite stepping away following his BMF title fight against Max Holloway in December, which he lost by unanimous decision. "Man, I still have fights left in my contract with the UFC," he said.
Poirier explained that the deal prevents him from taking boxing matches outside the organization. "I'm stuck in purgatory, so I can't go out and do nothing. And if I could, I don't even know if I would, but boxing has always been something I wanted to do."
He added that the UFC has made its stance clear on crossover bouts. "They don't want any crossover. No. They want to be taken seriously. Plus, if they let one guy do it, every guy and girl on the roster is going to try to do this."
Poirier is described as one of the biggest stars in MMA and one of the best boxers and punchers in the UFC, with knockout wins over Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Bobby Green, and others.
His comments come as TKO’s Zuffa Boxing has already held five events at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, while Poirier remains unable to test himself in the "Sweet Science."
