Dustin Poirier surprises fans as he weighs in on potential clash with Jake Paul after UFC retirement

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There are already questions about whether Dustin Poirier will move into boxing after his UFC retirement, as Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal have done.

After losing to Islam Makhachev by submission last year, it looked as though Poirier might be finished, but he took his time before deciding to return for one more fight.

This time, he’ll get the chance to compete close to home, headlining UFC 318 against Max Holloway in Louisiana for the Hawaiian’s symbolic BMF title.

With one last goal ahead of him in MMA, there has been talk about what comes next, including a possible move into boxing

Dustin Poirier rules out future exhibition match with Jake Paul after UFC retirement

Speaking on The Danza Project podcast, Poirier was asked if he had any interest in moving into crossover boxing once his MMA career is finished.

When it came to Jake Paul specifically, Poirier laid out why he’s not interested in following other MMA fighters like Ben Askren and Nate Diaz into the ring with the social media star.

“I don’t know. You know, respect to everything he’s built. He is really out there training hard, fighting hard, going against the grain and doing it his way. I respect the business part of what he’s doing, and the fighting part.

“But I’ve been around Jake a couple times, he’s a lot bigger than me, by a good bit,” Poirier added. “When I retire, I wanna retire. I don’t wanna come back for a sideshow payday-type of fight. So I don’t think so, man.”

Jake Paul once sent Dustin Poirier a gift following his knockout win over Conor McGregor

If a fight between the two ever materialised, it would likely be more of a friendly contest than anything else.

• READ MORE: Dustin Poirier names his MMA’s Mount Rushmore with Jon Jones and three other legends

Poirier hasn’t joined the chorus of critics within MMA who often target Paul’s boxing career. Instead, he’s shown respect for the former Disney star, and at one point even received a gift from him.

After Poirier knocked out Conor McGregor at UFC 257, Paul had a $100,000 chain made featuring a figurine of McGregor, referencing the Irishman’s first knockout defeat.

Paul posted on X: “Crazy press week but finally got time to get to a FedEx to ship this to Dustin. It’s on the way @DustinPoirier (diamond emoji).”