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Max Holloway recently expressed his excitement about facing Dustin Poirier in his retirement fight. On Friday, the UFC announced that Holloway will put his BMF title on the line against Poirier in the main event of UFC 318, set to take place on July 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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The highly anticipated clash will serve as the trilogy bout between Holloway and Poirier and will also mark the former interim lightweight champion’s farewell appearance in the UFC. Following the official announcement, 'Blessed' took to X to convey his enthusiasm for the matchup and his appreciation for being chosen as the Louisiana native’s final opponent. He wrote:
"Honored to be 'The Diamond's' Last Dance."
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Check out Max Holloway's post below:
Fans responded to Holloway’s post with a wave of reactions, with many enthusiastically celebrating the announcement of the upcoming matchup.
One fan wrote:
"Gonna be a show."
Another wrote:
"Bro you and @DustinPoirier should just have a dance battle there don’t want DP [Poirier] to take a L in his back yard."
Another commented:
"I can’t believe it!!! It will be a banger!!!"
Check out some more reactions below:
The pair first squared off at UFC 143 in February 2012, where Poirier handed Holloway a first-round submission defeat in what was the Hawaiian’s promotional debut.
'Blessed' and Poirier met for a second time at UFC 236 in April 2019, battling for the interim lightweight championship. 'The Diamond' once again emerged victorious, securing a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Holloway.
Dustin Poirier reflects on final octagon appearance against Max Holloway at UFC 318
During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Dustin Poirier reflected on the significance of having his farewell fight in front of a home crowd in Louisiana:
"It’s going to be my final fight. I’m going to lay my gloves down in Louisiana where it all started for me."
Poirier also showered praise on Max Holloway and expressed his appreciation for having him as his final opponent at UFC 318:
"Max is a legend. I said legends only. There's not a better guy I can think of to fight in my retirement fight. I was his first fight in the UFC back in 2012, and he's going to be my last fight in the UFC, so it's an honor. He's a legend, former champion, undisputed, current BMF champion, so we're going to put on another war."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below:
