MMA News Roundup: Dustin Poirier Ready to Retire After Islam Makhachev UFC 302, PFL Release Gegard Mousasi, Carlos Ulberg Saves Conor McGregor’s UFC 303

The last 24 hours have been home to some of the biggest headlines in the MMA world. Hence, to help you stay in the loop about it, we have compiled the biggest stories in our new edition of the daily roundup. We will start with veteran fighter Dustin Poirier. ‘The Diamond’ is apparently thinking about hanging up his gloves after June 1.

Then, we will shift our attention to the UFC’s rival promotion, PFL. The New York-based promotion recently released a fighter after some critical comments. Finally, the compilation will end with the news of Conor McGregor‘s 303 card, which had a shakeup with the addition of a replacement fighter.

Will Dustin Poirier retire after UFC 302?

Ahead of his title fight next weekend, Dustin Poirier joined CBS Sports for an interview, where he hinted that he could retire next month. Although he still believes he can compete at the very top level even at 35 years old, ‘The Diamond’ isn’t willing to go through the grind and rise through the rankings again if he can’t get the job done at UFC 302.

“I’m not going to climb the ladder again. I’ve been doing this [for] a long time. It’s a very selfish sport,” stated Dustin Poirier. The 35-year-old instead believes that it’s time for him to dawn on the full-time role of another job, being a parent and being present for his kids during their important days.

“I’m ready to be a father and be a husband and be home and be into a routine. I wouldn’t say I can’t do it again, I can do it again, [but] it’s just … this is it for me,” Dustin Poirier added. Do you really think this is the end of the road for the lightweight veteran?

PFL releases Dutch MMA fighter

Former Bellator champion Gegard Mousasi made some incendiary and inflammatory comments about his workplace during his recent appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’. And it is safe to say that his words hit his employers like a knife. Being a veteran of the sport and competing in Bellator since 2017, Mousasi couldn’t comprehend why PFL would acquire Bellator because he’s having issues with the financial side of things. But those comments backfired.

“I don’t know why you even took Bellator if you don’t have the money to let the fighters fight,” Gegard Mousasi told Ariel Helwani. “It’s the worst organization so far. I’ve fought in a lot of organizations; this is the worst one.” 

It was pretty clear that the promotion would not like any of its roster members speaking ill about them because they let go of Gegard Mousasi, but they did wish him good luck in his future endeavors. But where does Mousasi go now? Is coming back to the UFC a feasible choice for the Dutch fighter or will he retire since he’s already nearing his 40s? Only time will tell.

Jamahal Hill gets his opponent on Conor McGregor’s headlining card

The light heavyweight bout between former champion Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree looked like it could get scrapped after the latter’s doping violation. However, Dana White came up with the brilliant idea of pitting the former champion against a fighter out of the top 10, Carlos Ulberg. Make no mistake, the New Zealand national is a pretty good competitor. He holds a record of 11-1 and is currently on a 6-fight winning streak. Additionally, most of his wins have come via knockout and he is sure to give Jamahal Hill a run for his money.

While Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler will certainly be the focal point of the PPV on June 29, there are other exciting matchups, nonetheless. But rest assured, more fights are to be added soon because the card will have both prelims and early prelims. We will have to wait and see how the final card of UFC 303 shapes up to be.