Dustin Poirier will grace the octagon one last time as he takes on Max Holloway at UFC 318. Sure enough, ‘The Diamond’ is pulling out all the stops to make his swansong unforgettable.

During a recent appearance on the Fitz Take Podcast, the 36-year-old opened up about the extra measures he’s taking to make his retirement fight the best performance of his career:

“[I] tried to do everything right, not that I didn’t before, I just tried to be extra [for this last one]. I started my diet a few weeks before I even left to come out for training camp, and I’ve been in South Florida for eight weeks now.”

He added:

“Just trying to get ahead of everything, trying to make the last one the best one, and show the world that I’m walking away from the sport, not because I feel I can’t compete with these guys or anything like that. I’m not getting squeezed out of the sport. I’m not letting the sport retire me. I want to leave on my terms.”

Check out Dustin Poirier’s comments below:

Poirier is 2-0 against Holloway. When they first met in a featherweight bout at UFC 143 in 2012, he spoiled Holloway’s promotional debut with a first-round submission via armbar.

The pair crossed paths again at UFC 236, over seven years later, this time at lightweight. Once again, ‘The Diamond’ walked away with the win, earning a unanimous decision.

Max Holloway hopes to get title shot by spoiling Dustin Poirier’s retirement

While Dustin Poirier intends to ride off into the sunset with one last win at UFC 318, Max Holloway has other plans in mind. As ‘Blessed’ sees it, a win in Louisiana could put him in line for a lightweight title shot by the end of the year.

Speaking about the upcoming fight during a recent segment of his YouTube channel, the 33-year-old said:

“I know he’s trying to ride off into the sunset… he can go and do that, but it might be a little sad because I want to go out there and get my hand raised. The message that I’m trying to send is that I’m still here… At the end of the day, I go out there, I do my thing, I make a statement, I get a statement win, who’s to say your boy is not fighting for [the lightweight] undisputed title at the end of the year?”

Check out Max Holloway’s comments on Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight below (3:01):

Holloway holds a record of 26-8 in his MMA career. The former featherweight champion has earned victories over the likes of Justin Gaethje, Frankie Edgar, and Jose Aldo, among others.