Max Holloway will face Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 318 in New Orleans. This will mark the end of the Diamond’s career and, deservedly so, that’s the main story of the event. However, Holloway wants to play spoiler and he has good reasons to do so. He has lots in stake.
Not only is Holloway putting his BMF title on the line, but he is also facing a tough “accolade” to have. If he loses, Holloway would have the not-so-wanted distinction of losing two trilogies in full.
Trilogies are not often seen in the UFC, however, most of them have one thing in common. There has to be a win for each side to warrant a third matchup. Well, Holloway already lost a full trilogy to Alex Volkanovski. Max also is 0-2 vs. Poirier. Even if Max is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, having the distinction of being the only UFC fighter to be 0-3 against two different opponents is not what he’d like.
The bouts have been great though
Now, reading that, you might assume he was dominated in every single bout. Well, that’s not particularly the case. The first trilogy completed was the once with Volkanovski. The first fight was absolutely close, but Volk edged him on the scorecards to end Holloway’s eternal run as the featherweight champion. The second bout was even closer, with many scoring it in favor of Max. However, the third one was Volk at his best, dominating every single moment.
As for Dustin’s fights, they are lowkey tricky to explain. Only two men have been able to finish Holloway inside of the octagon. One of them is Poirier, who secured a triangle armbar against Holloway in Max’s UFC debut. Years later, in 2019, they fought for the interim lightweight bout. It was an incredible fight that ended 4th in the ‘Fight of the Year’ category. Poirier, however, won 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards.
There are good things if Holloway wins vs. Poirier too
This is not the first time Holloway is tasked with retiring a legend. He was also the farewell fight for The Korean Zombie. He won that bout by knockout. However, this time is much different. Zombie was really done when he fought Holloway. Poirier, instead, is still at an elite level of fighting.
There is another couple of streaks Holloway might consider. No BMF champion has ever defended the title. The first one was Jorge Masvidal. He retired. Then, Poirier and Gaethje fought for the vacant BMF belt. During his first defense, Gaethje was dominated and knocked out by Holloway. Hence, this title has never been successfully defended.
Another streak is the ‘Topuria blessing‘ stat. Yes, Ilia Topuria destroys everyone on his way, but weirdly enough, his UFC victims have gone to win the very next bout they have. Holloway’s last trip to the octagon was, in fact, a KO loss to Topuria, so if the trend is right, he should win this contest.