"It's tough to deal with" - Dustin Poirier details Max Holloway's "championship grit" inside the octagon

Dustin Poirier has lauded former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway for his championship grit inside the octagon. Poirier, a former interim UFC lightweight champion, faced Holloway twice in the UFC. Needless to say, ‘The Diamond’ is no stranger to Holloway’s legendary toughness and high-octane style of fighting.

Holloway made weight for his upcoming UFC 276 fight and subsequently appeared on the UFC 276 official weigh-in show where Poirier happened to be a panelist. Intriguingly, co-panelist Daniel Cormier asked ‘The Diamond’ what he feels makes Holloway special. Poirier responded by stating:

“I think the championship grit that’s ingrained in Max [Holloway] – being in front of you, throwing volume, the durability, always willing to engage. It’s tough to deal with in there. It is; especially five rounds.”

The first fight between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway was held at featherweight and transpired at UFC 143 in February 2012. In the bout, Poirier dominantly defeat ‘Blessed’ via first-round submission.

Their rematch was contested at lightweight for the interim UFC lightweight title at UFC 236 in April 2019. The fight was much more competitive and went the five-round distance, with Poirier winning via unanimous decision.

Watch Poirier discuss the topic at 6:52 in the video below:

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Eugene Bareman on what sets Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski apart from most other fighters

Dustin Poirier is coming off a third-round submission loss against Charles Oliveira in their UFC lightweight title fight in December 2021. 'The Diamond' has hinted at a possible move to welterweight and has been lobbying for a fight against Nate Diaz. Nevertheless, Poirier’s next opponent and exact comeback date are yet to be officially confirmed.

Meanwhile, Max Holloway will face UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in their highly-anticipated trilogy matchup, which will serve as the co-headlining fight at UFC 276 on July 2nd.

Volkanovski has beaten Holloway twice. Their matchups were competitive, with Volkanovski clinching decision victories on both occasions.

During a recent interview with It's Time For Sports, City Kickboxing (CKB) head coach Eugene Bareman, who serves as one of Volkanovski’s coaches, opened up about the all-important trilogy fight. Noting that Holloway always keeps him and his team on their toes, he suggested that ‘Blessed’ and Volkanovski are a rare breed of fighters. Bareman said:

“We're trying to search for something that's so difficult to find with fighters that are the one percent of the one percent, if you know what I mean. They're the one of the one percent, the fighters like Max, the fighters like Volkanovski. I'm sure it's [not] an easy task for his team as well, but yeah, it's just hard grinding work for us.”