Dustin Poirier has made it clear: there's only one fighter who could lure him out of retirement, and that's Nate Diaz.

The long-awaited showdown between these two MMA fan favorites was originally set for UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden in 2018, but it fell apart. While the official narrative blamed Poirier's hip injury, "The Diamond" is now setting the record straight.

"I still wanna whip Nate's a**... I'll come back to fight him," Poirier said on UFC on Paramount. "The UFC knew I was going to fight Nate in our first matchup in Madison Square Garden. Nate was having trouble with his negotiation. I don't know what was going on. But UFC called me and said, 'Hey, we want to keep you on the MSG card, would you fight so and so?' They started to offer me other people. I said listen, 'If it's not Nate, I'm not fighting. I'm going to have my hip taken care of. If it's Nate, I'll fight.'"

Poirier claims Diaz spun the story to make him the villain. "And then Nate used that -- like I was the fall guy, like the fight's off because I pulled out. But I never pulled out. I just didn't want to fight anybody else but Nate."

Since both men have stepped away from the UFC, their paths have diverged. Diaz (21-13) retired after submitting Tony Ferguson in 2022, then traded boxing matchups against Jake Paul (a loss) and Jorge Masvidal (a win). He's now set to face Mike Perry on May 16 at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles under the MVP MMA banner.

Poirier (30-10) hung up his gloves after a decision loss to Max Holloway last year, but admits he misses the thrill of competition. For fans who've dreamed of seeing these two finally settle their unfinished business, the window might still be open -- if only for one man.