It seems the wheels are spinning on a potential UFC event in New Orleans.
During a September meeting of the Louisiana State Boxing & Wrestling Commission, members discussed how the UFC was interested in heading to New Orleans sometime in 2025, according to state records obtained by MMA Junkie.
The commission also indicated that the event, should it happen, could occur in the first quarter of the year and feature Dustin Poirier.
However during an interview Wednesday with Uncrowned, Poirier seemed to indicate the event might not happen until later in the year.
Poirier, 35, looks to bounce back from a failed title bid vs. Islam Makahchev in June. He teased a potential retirement after that fight, but it appears new life has been breathed into his career with a potential Louisiana send-off.
“Just how this thing unfolds, we’ll see when I do retire,” Poirier said. “It could be uno mas, it could be dos mas. I had a good meeting at the UFC headquarters. I was out there with Celsius at a trade show and I had a good meeting. So I could come back. My goal is to get a fight and an event here in Louisiana, whether that’s Lafayette, Louisiana or New Orleans. I want to lay the gloves down where I started fighting. That’s my goal.
“Just opponent availability, what makes sense. Behind the scenes, and people don’t understand this, these shows are booked a year in advance. I think a week ago, we were speaking about it, and he was already booked with pay-per-views through August. It’s hard to just throw things together last second. It takes a lot of planning. There are a lot of moving parts with these big UFC events. But my goal is to take my gloves off in Louisiana and retire at home.”
Random tidbit I came across. Louisiana state records say its commission recently discussed how the #UFC is considering bringing a PPV event to New Orleans. Perhaps a Dustin Poirier homecoming? pic.twitter.com/pkdiIYw4Ek
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) October 15, 2024
Should the UFC touch down in Louisiana, it’ll be the ninth time the state has hosted the promotion overall – but the first since a Dan Henderson vs. Tim Boestch-headlined card in June 2015.
