Dustin Poirier Poised to Answer #1 Trending Concern on Max Holloway at UFC 318

Max Holloway may never be the same after hard-hitting KO loss to former feathweight champ, and Dustin Poirier is hot on his tails at UFC 318 PPV.

Dustin Poirier Poised to Answer #1 Trending Concern on Max Holloway at UFC 318

Dustin Poirier pitches in on whether Max Holloway durability would hold after Ilia Topuria KO (Source: X)

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It’s not every day two former belt holders come into a fight coming off losses. UFC 318 in New Orleans will feature one such matchup between elite strikers. Dustin Poirier was submitted in his last outing at UFC 302. Meanwhile, defending BMF Champ Max Holloway was subject to a hard-hitting knockout loss.

The prevailing consensus has been that Max Holloway might never be the same after his UFC 308 title fight loss. It’s sort of similar to what happened to Alexander Volkanovski, who suffered two consecutive knockout losses after taking a 11-day short-notice fight at UFC 294.

Volk suffered a knockout loss at the hands of Islam Makhachev and didn’t wait a long to recover. Soon after, the Aussie legend returned to featherweight to defend his title against Ilia Topuria. The lack of rest between UFC 294 and UFC 298 saw Topuria brutally KO Volk inside two rounds.

Holloway is a different case altogether as the Hawaiian superstar took a break for 8 months following his UFC 308 knockout loss. He has won three out of his last four, but many fighters have come back even worse once their chin got cracked.

The Hawaiian has always been known to be a hard-chinned brawler. Going into UFC 308, even former rival Volk billed not to count out Holloway due to his hard, durable chin. Will it be the same this time at UFC 318? Dustin Poirier has his thoughts.

With the durability talk, …it’s, it’s tough to say; You know, a lot of things play into that. Genetics, lifestyle, all kinds of stuff…We’ll find out Saturday night if that shot really affected him [or not at all]. That’s my goal, [it] is to find out. But I’m expecting another war.

Dustin Poirier during UFC 318 Official Media Day interviews

Holloway’s durability was on full display with the interim UFC 155-pound champ at their UFC 236 rematch. Despite bleeding early in the fight, ‘The Diamond’ couldn’t put ‘Blessed’ away. The question arises if it’ll be the same this time in this five-round battle with the BMF champ.

In his 30-fight UFC tenure, this was the Hawaiian’s first KO loss. A desk analyst for the UFC post-fight show, Dustin Poirier had even glazed ‘El Matador’ as a current best boxer in the competition roster after the KO win. Now, the former interim champion has his own goals to punctuate the same.

Former champ Alexander Volkanovski has said there might be spillover from this KO loss when going up against someone like ‘The Diamond.’ Equally potent and a brawler, the heavy-handed Poirier is known for his closing-range slipping and swinging, and hopes to wing it into a win against Holloway. On the adjunct side, another 155-pounder has weighed in on the outcome against Topuria.

Max Holloway told by UFC peer he was ‘wrong’ about rival Ilia Topuria assessment after UFC 317

Topuria relinquished his 145-pound title strap for a move up and straight away challenged for gold. Even when at featherweight, he was poised to have less success against the durable Max Holloway, who’s 5’11” with a 69″ reach.

UFC 318's Max Holloway told he is worng about his last competition loss and Ilia Topuria
UFC 318’s Max Holloway told he is worng about his last competition loss and Ilia Topuria (Source: X)

Topuria, on the smaller side of things for a lightweight, was to be in a pool of trouble from submission specialist Charles Oliveira. After all, the Brazilian has nasty knees while clinching, elite submission skills and caliber as a finisher. However, Topuria finished him off via first-round KO and proved his worth at UFC 317.

The Spaniard is on a one-of-one title campaign with triple KO wins against fan-favorites (two at featherweight). Many believe that if he can actually match up to former 155-pound champ Islam Makhachev on a skills level, he is smack in the middle of GOAT conversations.

But, all through fight week before the Dustin Poirier challenge, Max Holloway had downplayed Topuria’s violent feats and title campaign in favor of his own self. Often quirky, outspoken, and ultra-utilitarian lightweight, No.12-ranked Renato Moicano, begs to differ:

If Volk did not win the belt again, I would agree, …At the same time, he is champion now. So I don’t agree [with Holloway saying it]…Max, Charles, and Volkanovski. That is an impressive résumé [instead] for Topuria.

Renato Moicano on his ‘Show Me The Money‘ Podcast| UFC 318 Breakdown

The Hawaiian floated that Volkanovski’s KO loss against Islam Makhachev, his own tough weight cut down to 145, and Oliveira’s inconsistent fight stance makes it harder to recognize Topuria’s victory as elite. Moicano disagreed, saying that short-notice king Volk overcorrected, and is champ once again. As such, those points are moot.

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