Fight fans have taken this week to celebrate the career of Dustin Poirier ahead of his final fight.
Poirier has had an emotional road to UFC 318 where ‘The Diamond’ will step inside the Octagon for one last dance.
While the UFC has helped to grant Poirier his dream retirement scenario by facing Max Holloway in Louisiana on July 19, a former rival clearly doesn’t have the same adoration for him.
The 36-year-old has faced some of the biggest names in the sport during his remarkable run, having shared the cage with the likes of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
There is, however, one blockbuster matchup that somehow didn’t get to happen, leaving unfinished business between the two opponents.
READ MORE: UFC 318 star slams ‘scumbag’ opponent for posting videos of his knockout losses to call for main card matchup
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesNate Diaz posts about his cancelled UFC 230 fight with Dustin Poirier during UFC 318 fight weekIn 2018, Dustin Poirier was set to face Nate Diaz at UFC 230 inside Madison Square Garden.
The road to the fight was dramatic, with talks of the matchup potentially serving as the main event or taking place in a new weight class, with both men pushing for a 165-pound belt.
At the time, the BMF belt hadn’t been created, though this would’ve been very fitting, with Diaz going on to fight for the inaugural title the following year.
The constant conversation surrounding this fight, which wasn’t helped by Diaz walking out of the press conference, was ended when Poirier withdrew from UFC 230 due to a hip injury several weeks out from November 3.
Breaking: Dustin Poirier has suffered an undisclosed injury, per multiple sources. He is off UFC 230 co-main event against Nate Diaz in New York.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 10, 2018 View Tweet
‘The Diamond’ later explained that he would’ve fought through the injury if he was still facing Diaz on this date but after being told that this wasn’t going to happen, he made the call to not face a different opponent at this event and to take some time off.
Despite Poirier’s side of the story, it’s clear that his former rival doesn’t believe that this is why the highly anticipated bout didn’t take place.
In a recent post on social media, Diaz shared an old video of Poirier sending him a message via his hospital bed where he called him a “fake a– gangster”.
The former UFC star seemingly chose to bring this back up while everyone is reflecting on the legacy that ‘The Diamond’ will leave behind, tagging the promotion in the post.
“How about when DP [Dustin Poirier] pulled out of fight with me to get p—- surgery.”
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Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesNate Diaz would have been another strong option for Dustin Poirier’s retirement fightBefore the main event of UFC 318 was confirmed, Dustin Poirier made it clear that he only wanted to fight a fellow legend of the sport for his retirement fight.
While he may not have the same level of respect for Nate Diaz that he has for Max Holloway, finally closing this chapter would’ve been another great way for ‘The Diamond’ to bow out.
In the end, it remains the one huge fight that fans wanted to see him in that never materialized inside the Octagon, outside of a matchup with Tony Ferguson when both men were at the top.
Considering everything that went on behind the scenes ahead of UFC 230, it certainly seems like his rematch with Holloway has been far simpler to put together.
