Max Holloway isn’t showing up to UFC 318 to be on the receiving end of Dustin Poirier’s final victory.
The former featherweight titleholder, and current “BMF” champion defends against Poirier in their third meeting in the main event of the UFC’s July 19 pay-per-view in Poirier’s backyard of New Orleans.
Poirier holds two wins over Holloway in the past, including a decision victory in a classic at UFC 236 to win the interim lightweight belt. Holloway believes Poirier’s home fans—and MMA fans in general—might not get the happy ending they want.
“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.”
In his most recent bout, Holloway was knocked out for the first time in a fight by Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 this past October. “Blessed” made a permanent move to lightweight following the loss, and with Topuria and Charles Oliveira—both past opponents—about to battle for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317, Holloway sees a way to cut the line to the winner if things go his way.
“The message that I’m trying to send is that 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 [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 lightweight] undisputed title at the end of the year?
“First thing’s first: Dustin Poirier. I’m not [overlooking] him. This is his retirement fight. He is taking it serious. 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.
“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’m still going to be here, I still want to go and get an undisputed title, so I got to go out there and make a statement.”
