Holloway vs. Poirier 2, a rematch 7 years in the making at UFC 236
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This weekend’s UFC 236 will feature an interim lightweight title fight for the main event of the evening, in Max Holloway vs Dustin Poirier 2.
These men have already met before in the Octagon. This time is completely different. If you were to watch their first fight which took place in February 2012, you wouldn’t even recognize these guys, compared to who they are now. Holloway and Poirier fought on the undercard of UFC 143, at the time, the main event was Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight title.
In their first fight, Poirier finished Holloway via first-round submission inside the first two minutes of competition. The stoppage came with 3:23 left on the clock.
Now, we have to consider, 2012 is a long way from 2019. Seven years later and neither of these guys look anything like the fighter they used to be. Holloway was just 20 years old in the first fight and he was making his UFC debut on short notice. Holloway had only had four professional fights at the time and Poirier would be his fifth. On the other hand, for Poirier, it was his fourth UFC fight and his 13th professional fight.
Since then, both of these guys have grown and gone on their own win streaks, defeating former champions and Max claiming titles of his own.
For Holloway, he is currently on a 13-fight win streak, with a professional record of 20-3. He hasn’t lost a fight since August 2013, when he dropped a decision to Conor McGregor. He is also the current featherweight champion of the world and has racked up 2 title defenses already. He’s defeated all-time great Jose Aldo, not once but twice. Both of these wins came by way of stoppage. Since their first fight, Holloway has been granted his purple belt in BJJ. Also, his striking has evolved greatly and he continues to showcase that, time and time again.
For Poirier, he is currently on a 4-fight win streak, three of which were wins over former champions. His last three wins were over former champions in Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis. He holds a professional record of 24-5 and is currently the #3 lightweight in the world, right on the brink of capturing UFC gold. Poirier’s last loss came in 2016, when he lost to Michael Johnson via KO. Poirier was scheduled to fight Nate Diaz in the main event last year at Madison Square Garden but the fight fell through. Since the first fight, Poirier has also officially become a BJJ black belt. He is just as dangerous on the ground as he is on the feet.
All in all, this rematch is going to be one for the books. Holloway now 27, Poirier now 30, both of these guys have become more advanced with age. And that is what we are going to see in the Octagon, come Saturday night in Atlanta.
Be prepared to see absolute fireworks in the main event of UFC 236, as featherweight champion Max Holloway moves up in weight to rematch Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship.
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