Daniel Cormier explains why he never bought into Dustin Poirier's retirement talk: "He's too much of a fighter" 

Although Dustin Poirier considered retirement after his title fight loss at UFC 302, Daniel Cormier had no doubt that 'The Diamond' would fight again.

Poirier has been talking about retirement for months, and after his loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, he felt he was unlikely to get another title shot even if he went on a winning streak. This prompted the Louisiana native to double down on the idea of walking away from the sport.

However, during an appearance on Anik & Florian podcast, the 35-year-old reversed course and confirmed that he plans to fight once more since he is opposed to walking away from the sport on a losing note.

But it seems Cormier never bought into the idea of Poirier in the first place. During a recent segment of his Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast with fellow MMA legend Chael Sonnen, the former UFC two-division champion said:

"He spoke of retirement before he fought Benoit Saint Denis, he spoke of being done after he lost to Islam Makhachev, it was never true. He was always going to fight again... The reason I think he should fight more is because he's still good enough to beat so many guys in the world. He is not done, he is still young. You don't stop fighting when you still have the ability to compete... He has a lot to give. He never was walking away, he is too much of a fighter."

Catch Daniel Cormier's comments on Dustin Poirier below (5:20):

'DC' however suspects Poirier might have to fill the role of a gatekeeper at lightweight for the time being, since he is out of the title picture.

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Chael Sonnen plays matchmaker for Dustin Poirier, speculates next opponent

With Dustin Poirer confirming that he'll be fighting again, the MMA world is excited to find out, who 'The Diamond' would face next. Chael Sonnen has a few candidates in mind.

During a recent segment on his YouTube channel, Sonnen dismissed Poirier's proposed four-man one-night BMF tournament as a subtle call-out for Justin Gaethje.

While he understands Gaethje might be the promotion's primary choice of opponent for the former interim lightweight champion, Sonnen refuses to believe the UFC would greenlight a tournament format.

The 47-year-old thinks a rematch with Dan Hooker would be a fitting choice, given the high-profile nature of their first fight. He also acknowledged surging contender Paddy Pimblett is only a few wins shy of a title fight and could fit the bill to take on Poirier.

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments on Dustin Poirier's next fight below (4:10):