Next weekend, Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier will collide in a highly anticipated trilogy bout that will serve as Poirier’s retirement fight.
While Poirier has been open about the fact that initially, he was more interested in fighting Justin Gaethje for his farewell fight, Holloway is heading into the UFC 318 card eager to avenge his two previous losses to The Diamond.
In a promo video released by the UFC, the former featherweight kingpin explained the significance of the fight:
“Me and Dustin, we have some history. He took my undefeated record, he took my 13-fight win streak. I’m gonna take his retirement fight.”
You can hear his comments in the promo video below.
Holloway and Poirier’s careers have been intertwined for more than a decade now.
When Holloway, who was just 4-0 as a pro at the time, made his UFC debut in 2012 he collided with Dustin Poirier, an up-and-coming featherweight who made waves with three straight wins in the Octagon following the UFC’s acquisition of the WEC.
Years later, when Holloway was reigning atop the featherweight division, he moved up to 155 to face off with Poirier in a highly-anticipated rematch for the interim lightweight title.
With Poirier emerging from both fights victorious, Holloway is eager to play spoiler in The Diamond’s retirement fight.
Max Holloway Doesn’t Want to Be 0-3 in Two Trilogies
Heading into next Saturday’s UFC 318 card, Max Holloway opened up on the magnitude of the fight, and what it means for his career, while speaking with MMAJunkie’s Mike Bohn.
As he explained, defending the BMF title that he won by defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 is cool, but his focus is on making sure he doesn’t end up on the wrong end of MMA history.
With three losses to Alexander Volkanovski, and two losses to Dustin Poirier, the former featherweight kingpin knows how important this fight is for his legacy:
“I’m 0-3 in one trilogy, I’m not trying to be 0-3 in two trilogies. So that’s the main thing going through my mind right now. The BMF title is cool and everything, and making history is great, but the main thing, I ain’t trying to be a man who fought two different trilogies and went 0-3.”
Max Holloway was Thrilled When he Heard Ilia Topuria was Moving to 155
Following his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria last year, Max Holloway announced that he was moving up to lightweight for good.
Just over a month later, however, Topuria and his team indicated that he would be moving up to 155.
Despite the fact that Topuria was the first man to finish him with strikes, Holloway was thrilled to hear that El Matador was making the jump up in weight.
As he explained to Mike Bohn:
“I was over the moon when Ilia announced he was coming to 155, and when I found out he got the title shot, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ Even the title shot with both of them — when they announced Oliveira and Topuria with the title shot — I was the happiest man alive.”
On UFC.com Holloway is ranked No. 5 at 155. While a number of contenders like Arman Tsarukyan, Justin Gaethje, and Paddy Pimblett are all eager to secure title fights, with a dominant win over Poirier, Holloway could find himself on the verge of title contention as well.
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