Dustin Poirier has revealed he was ready to quit the UFC after his 2014 defeat to Conor McGregor.
'The Diamond' fought McGregor and was stopped in explosive fashion in their first meeting at UFC 178.
But he has since avenged the loss, winning twice in rematches, most recently at UFC 264.
Although the 32-year-old nearly quit fighting after the initial defeat and could have missed out on the opportunity to further his career at lightweight.
"When I got back home I was just like looking in the mirror, saying, 'What am I doing here?'" Poirier told The Vault.
"What's going on? I put everything I had into this and I went out there and lost.
I was ranked in the Top Two of the world and I went out there and got beat by a guy who's running his mouth and saying all these things. "I was on a good streak. It was me or him who was gonna fight for the belt."
Poirier earned a second victory over McGregor when the Irishman suffered a horrific broken leg injury in the opening round of their latest encounter.
And the American is now within touching distance of a title shot at Charles Oliveira's UFC lightweight world title.
But despite now winning two of the three fights with McGregor, Poirier has refused to rule out another meeting in the future.
Will McGregor and Poirier meet in a fourth fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
He told Sportsmail : "I think I have proven myself the better fighter twice in a row here but we'll see what happens in the future (about a fourth fight).
"I don't know when he's coming back, he has a long recovery, a long road ahead of him. I'm next in line for a title shot, it's hard to call what's going to happen in the future, I don't know."
The American's rival now faces an uncertain future, while his recovery from injury continues before he can return to the cage.
And he could look to try and challenge Poirier for a fourth time upon his return, although he has been linked with a whole host of names.
He has also been linked to another trilogy against famous foe Nate Diaz, who hinted at the event on the fifth-year anniversary of their rematch.
But former UFC star Michael Bisping has encouraged McGregor to take a trilogy with Diaz, to rekindle a later challenge for Poirier in a fourth clash.
“Hopefully, we see that fight," Bisping said on his Believe You Me podcast. "I’m not sure if he wants to come back, Conor I’m talking about, after what’s probably going to be about a year’s lay-off and fighting Dustin for the third time.
"You kind of want to get your whistle wet. Find your mojo, blow off that ring rust. Nate would be the guy. Then, if Conor beats Nate, then he fights Dustin, because, you know, they are going to do a fourth fight.
"The fourth fight will be absolutely massive, but I think if I was Conor’s manager, if I was advising him, I would say ‘take a tune-up fight’, you know what I mean?”
