How Dustin Poirier’s honesty helped Michael Chiesa know it was time to retire

Michael Chiesa felt the timing was right to walk away from MMA this past weekend.

Israel Adesanya, meanwhile, lost his fourth straight fight and has left plenty of questions swirling around his future. Demetrious Johnson weighed in on the situation, sharing his take on where Adesanya goes from here.

Even so, ‘The Last Stylebender’ doesn’t seem ready to step back just yet. He’s still hungry to compete and willing to keep testing himself despite the recent losses.

Chiesa retired at UFC Seattle and later explained that a conversation with another veteran made him realise it was time to hang up the gloves.

Michael Chiesa knew it was time to retire after Dustin Poirier shared similar feelings

Michael Chiesa’s retirement stood out in the eyes of his former rival Kevin Lee, mainly because the UFC gave him a send-off that showed real respect, which isn’t something you see too often.

Unlike many others, he left the sport on a four-fight win streak. But he recently admitted that during his only fight in 2025, he experienced something new that he hadn’t talked about until now.

“It was in the Court McGee fight,” Chiesa told Uncrowned. “It was the first time in my life that I held myself back from pulling the trigger and going hard. And it was out of fear. I was scared of getting hurt and losing. That was the first time I’d ever felt like that in a fight, and it held me back from taking chances that I would have taken when I was younger.”

The following month, Dustin Poirier made similar comments after his loss to Max Holloway brought his career to an end, something that really struck a chord with Chiesa.

“I was working with Dustin when he said that and I immediately thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s exactly how I felt,’” Chiesa explained. “Instead of pushing for it and going for the finish and trying to put a stamp on the fight, I held myself back for the first time in my life. And that seemed like a sign that, OK, this is it.”

Chiesa may have some regrets about parts of his career but there are plenty who feel this was as good a moment as any for him to step away from fighting.

A first-round submission win over Niko Price in front of his home fans meant ‘Maverick’ walked away while support for him couldn’t have been much higher.

He might have been putting together an impressive run but only he knew things had started to change inside the Octagon.

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