Max Holloway plans to 'spoil' Dustin Poirier's retirement, fight Topuria-Oliveira winner

Max Holloway plans to 'spoil' Dustin Poirier's retirement, fight Topuria-Oliveira winner
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Dustin Poirier discusses UFC 318 retirement fight vs. Max Holloway
Dustin Poirier talks to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn about his retirement fight against Max Holloway at UFC 318 on July 19, retiring with the BMF title.
Max Holloway won't have mercy on anyone as he enters the next chapter of his career with a clear mindset: "Taking it serious, coming back and looking to make a statement."
Holloway hasn't seen action since October, when he suffered the first knockout loss of his career against Ilia Topuria at UFC 308. The defeat in the featherweight title bout prompted the former titleholder to finally make a full-time move up to lightweight, where he will look for a fresh start against a familiar foe.
The UFC 318 main event on July 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) will see Holloway enter enemy territory to take on Louisiana's own Dustin Poirier in what will conclude the longest-spanning trilogy in UFC history and also a retirement fight for "The Diamond."
Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) has lost both of his previous meetings with Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC). The first was in his octagon debut at UFC 143 in February 2012 when he was just 19 years old, and "Blessed" suffered a first-round submission defeat. The rematch happened in April 2019 at UFC 236, where Poirier earned a unanimous decision win in a Fight of the Year contender for the interim lightweight belt.
Poirier told MMA Junkie in April that he was honored to have Holloway be his final dance partner, and there is a strong element of mutual respect. However, Holloway needs his get-back and said he's not letting Poirier walk away from the sport with a 3-0 series sweep.
"I respect Dustin," Holloway said in a new UFC 318 training camp video on his YouTube channel. "He's fought a who's who, and he did everything you could ask for someone to do in this sport. But at the end of the day, it's not even about fighting. It's about respecting Dustin as a man. He's a great guy. He's a good guy. I've got nothing but respect for him, and I can't wait to share the octagon yet again with him.
"I know this is Dustin's retirement fight, and he's trying to ride into the sunset, but he can go and do that, and it might be a little bit sad, because I'm going to go out there and get my hand raised. ... Hell of guy, great guy, awesome that it's his retirement fight, 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 in the sunset. I'm still going to be here. I want to still go get an undisputed title, so I've got to go out and make a statement."
Although the UFC 318 headliner will be contested for Holloway's BMF title, the Hawaiian made it clear this is not a belt he's content with. Holloway has the desire to add the 155-pound title to his mantel alongside the 145-pound and BMF belts, and to get there he must win this fight.
With Islam Makhachev vacating for welterweight, Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and Charles Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) will fight for vacant gold on June 28 in the UFC 317 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Holloway has the recent loss to Topuria and a past win over Oliveira on his resume, and he said he will be chasing whomever comes out of that fight as the new champ.
"The only message that I'm trying to send is I'm still here," Holloway said. "I know this is Dustin's retirement fight, but his last fight was for a title. I still have title contentions in my mind. Couple weeks before us, there's a title fight at 155 and I've got history with both men. At the end of the day, I go out there and do my thing, I make a statement, I get a statement win, who's to say your boy not fighting for the 155 undisputed title at the end of the year? First things first is Dustin Poirier. I'm not overlooking him. This is his retirement fight. He is taking it serious. Everybody keeps reminding me that he's 2-0. The internet and everywhere all around is saying, 'Why?' I'm going to show you why. I'm going to show you why I got this fight, and I'm going to show the fans why you want to see this fight."

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