Max Holloway isn’t coming to New Orleans to play supporting role in Dustin Poirier’s send-off. He’s coming to end it.
The former featherweight champion and current BMF titleholder is set to clash with Poirier in their long-awaited trilogy fight at UFC 318 on July 19. The bout headlines a high-stakes card in Poirier’s backyard and while the fans may be hoping for a feel-good finale, Holloway has no intention of delivering one.
“I have the opportunity to be his retirement fight,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “I know he’s trying to ride off into the sunset… he can go and do that, but it might be a little sad because I want to go out there and get my hand raised.”
Poirier leads the series 2-0, including a decision win over Holloway at UFC 236 to claim the interim lightweight belt. But that history doesn’t faze Holloway, who’s focused on one thing making a statement.
“Everybody keeps reminding me that he’s up 2-0. Everybody on the internet, everywhere is saying, ‘Why?’ And I’m going to show you why, I’m going to show you why I got this fight. I’m going to show the fans why they want to see this fight.”
Holloway heads into UFC 318 after a rough outing at featherweight. He suffered the first knockout loss of his career to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, prompting his full-time move to lightweight. Now, with Charles Oliveira and Topuria battling for the vacant 155-pound title just weeks before UFC 318, Holloway sees a direct path to gold.
“The message that I’m trying to send is that I’m still here,” he said. “I know this is Dustin’s retirement fight, but his last fight was for a title. I still have title contention in my mind, and a couple of weeks before us, there’s a title fight at 155 and I got history with both men.”
“At the end of the day, I go out there, I do my thing, I make a statement, I get a statement win who’s to say your boy is not fighting for the undisputed title at the end of the year?”
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Max Holloway, and he’s embracing it. He’s entering enemy territory, facing a man who’s beaten him twice, and fighting on the night his opponent plans to walk away from the sport. But Holloway doesn’t care about the storyline. He cares about what comes next.
“First thing’s first: Dustin Poirier. I’m not overlooking him. This is his retirement fight. He is taking it serious. But I’m here to spoil his plans and get my hand raised because I’m still going to be here when he’s riding off into the sunset. I still want to go and get an undisputed title, so I got to go out there and make a statement.”
For Max Holloway, UFC 318 isn’t just a chance to settle a score. It’s the start of a new chapter at lightweight and the next step toward becoming a two-division UFC champion.
