UFC 318 delivered the goods with plenty of incredible fights, lots of finishes and major upsets. It was all capped off by Max Holloway successfully defending his BMF belt against Dustin Poirier. After the bout, Poirier took off his gloves as he rides into the retirement sunset. But then, the question is: what’s next for Holloway?
Thankfully, the UFC always has a post-fight press conference where the president Dana White was asked about Holloway’s future. The situation for him is tricky. After losing to Ilia Topuria at featherweight, Holloway decided to open new opportunities for him at 155. The problem was Topuria then decided to go up and grabbed the ligthweight title. This was awful news for Max who saw how the one who beat him ‘invaded’ his new division.
However, according to Dana White, Holloway “is in a great position… he’s ranked number 4 in the world, anything is possible for Max now.” This is big! After all, it’s not common that the UFC even considers a rematch after a vicious KO loss in the first fight.
Holloway was an absolute beast at UFC 318
The whole event was centered on Dustin Poirier‘s retirement. Having said that, Holloway didn’t get caught in the sentimental wave. He was there to spoil the party and he did. Two of the three judges gave him four rounds as he won 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 to retain his belt.
Holloway was poised and hurt Poirier. Not only that, when he got hurt, he was able to weather the storm and regain control with his volume and speed. Holloway connected 198 significant strikes against Poirier’s 109. It was a vintage Holloway performance.
How would Topuria vs. Holloway II go?
Topuria is the only man to knock out Max Holloway in the octagon. However, the third round finish doesn’t mean Holloway got dominated. In fact, he had more total strikes and significant strikes landed up to the point of the finish.
Two of the judges had Topuria winning the two previous rounds and one had it 1-1. In fact, the first round was Holloway commanding the pace, but Topuria’s power might have swerved some of the judges. In a rematch, Holloway should adjust. He’s looked really good at 155. However, Topuria is knocking everyone he shares the octagon with and has established as the boogeyman in the UFC.