Dustin Poirier never won the title and only achieved the interim lightweight championship belt. Despite that, the Louisiana native has cemented his name as one of the best lightweights with notable wins over Max Holloway, Conor McGregor, and Justin Gaethje. He has some of the best highlight reel finishes in UFC that show how deserving he is of a title. From Poirier giving a D’Arce choke to Pablo Garza to breaking McGregor’s shin and defeating him at UFC 264 in 2021, ‘The Diamond’ showed why he was a gem in the UFC world.  

Poirier has achieved the pinnacle of success, and now he has decided to retire, but not without a last dance. And what a dance it will be— back in his hometown against his arch-rival Max Holloway at UFC 318. Every fighter dreams of a perfect ending to their career, and Poirier might just get a highlight reel finish to his. The first two encounters with Holloway saw Poirier emerge victorious, but this trilogy fight carries different stakes. Holloway is coming off a fresh blitzing knockout loss against  Ilia Topuria, and Poirier himself is coming off a loss to Makhachev.

Poirier’s coach, Mike Brown, however, believes that he has all the arsenal to get the final win. He mentioned how a win via guillotine choke would be a perfect ending for Poirier’s career. While speaking to MMA Fighting on SBN, Damon Martin asked, “Would it be the greatest moment of his career if he went out there and guillotine choked Max Holloway?”

Brown answered with a subtle smile, “Everyone would be pretty happy with that, I think. That would be pretty cool, you never know. People did not think he was going for rear-naked Chandler. Who ain’t got jiu-jitsu right? No, he’s got jiu-jitsu, people sleep on it.”

Brown has coached the lightweight star through some of his biggest fights, watching him thrive into a main event star. On that note, he mentioned in the interview how the upcoming trilogy will be the “Fight of the Year” candidate. 

Mike Brown seals trilogy fight as the Fight of the Year

While speaking to Damon Martin, Brown said, “Yeah, storybook ending, man. What a hell of a career this guy had. And no place better to do it than his hometown or his home state, Louisiana, you know, against a reputable monster world champ, you know, Max Holloway. They have done it a couple of times, but this one’s for the BMF belt, which is kind of cool. It will be a big show, big production, and you know, as always, you know the fight of the year guaranteed”. 

The trilogy bout will truly be a cinematic ending to their long rivalry and Poirier’s storied career. People are already excited about the fight and have started picking their favorites. Among the MMA fans and veterans is Poirier’s past opponent, Charles Oliveira, who declared that the former will win his last dance.

Poirier has fought for the title with some of the best fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, and Islam Makhachev. So he is a class apart when it comes to being a lightweight star. But do you think he can win another game against Holloway? Can he end his career on a high note? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.