Dustin Poirier is hanging onto his MMA career.

Age 35 was supposed to be the end of the road, according to Poirier, who told his wife Jolie many years ago. However, he’s now reached that juncture and doesn’t feel ready to say farewell despite a third undisputed UFC title loss in his most recent time out at UFC 302 in June.

Poirier’s fifth-round D’Arce choke submission loss to Islam Makhachev was as valiant of an effort as “The Diamond” has ever displayed, considering the circumstances. Had he won, that was likely a firm perfect way to retire, he’s said. After the good performance, Poirier has returned from a much-needed family vacation and hasn’t yet made up his mind on retirement.

“I need to make a solid decision so I can get out of the limbo,” Poirier told MMA Junkie. “I’m still kind of fighting myself every day, not sure what I’m doing.”

The one-time interim lightweight champion noted how he’ll get back into a healthy routine for August and go from there. Poirier suffered multiple injuries in his Makhachev loss, including a broken nose that he’s scheduled surgery for in October. If the right fight comes along, he’ll gladly postpone it.

Although Poirier (30-9, 1 NC) isn’t sure who that name would have to be, he did say he’d be open to an interim clash with the next title challenger Arman Tsarukyan. That’s in the case that the currently injured Makhachev will be out longer than the UFC would like.

Ultimately, Poirier’s gut tells him to give it one more shot. When he clearly can, why not?

“Inside of me, it’s like I’m battling it,” Poirier said. “I feel like I can’t leave. I can’t walk away. I still can do it. I know I can beat these guys. It’s like an internal struggle, it’s a battle for sure.

“I want to fight, but we’ll see. Nothing’s guaranteed in here and I don’t know what kind of battle I’m gonna be in if I lose two in a row. I’ve never lost two in a row. Nothing’s guaranteed in this, but if I do walk away, I definitely want to walk away on a high note and a win. I don’t want to walk away on an L.”

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LET’S WATCH

The MMA Hour.

Umar in the UFC (so far).

Full fights.

UFC 304 BTS with Bisping.

PFL Nashville Fight Week.

Volk in Manchester.

LISTEN UP

No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Conner Burks discuss whether Umar Nurmagomedov can make a statement against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi.

MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Maybe.

Random...

Trilogy.

Training.

Back at it.

The Bisping family vacation.

Advice.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Josh Fremd (11-6) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6, 1 NC); UFC Fight Night, Oct. 12

Lerone Murphy (14-0-1) vs. Dan Ige (18-8); UFC 308, Oct. 26

FINAL THOUGHTS

I don’t know who Poirier could fight that meets what he wants, other than Nate Diaz who doesn’t seem realistic. He’ll fight again, though. That much feels guaranteed now.

Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.