Dustin Poirier: I Respect Max Holloway, But ‘There’s No Love’
No. 3-ranked UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier is set for the biggest fight of his MMA career when he meets featherweight champion Max Holloway for the interim lightweight championship in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., April 13, 2019) UFC 236 from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
The high-profile bout is the culmination of years of hard work for ‘The Diamond.’ After a first-round knockout loss to Conor McGregor in September 2014, Poirier ditched the cut down to 145 pounds and moved back to 155 pounds. The results have been magnificent, as he’s racked up an 8-1 (1 NC) record in his 10 fights since.
His recent three-fight run featuring stoppage wins over former champions Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, and Justin Gaethje finally has Poirier on the precipice of title contention. There hasn’t been a ton of trash talk for his bout with Holloway compared to other UFC title fights.
His Night
Yet Poirier felt the need to say a few words during their intense final staredown yesterday. While he respects Holloway, he simply believes his time at the top is near:
“It’s just how I’m feeling,” Poirier revealed after UFC 236 ceremonial weigh-ins via MMA Junkie. “I said what I said. I do have a lot of respect for Max. He’s a great champion, a good guy. But I’ve been working too hard and worked through too much and sacrificed and overcome so many things that tomorrow night I just can’t let him have it. This is my night. There’s no love in there.”
‘The Diamond’ has fought Holloway before, scoring an impressive mounted triangle finish over the Hawaiian champion in his UFC debut. That was over seven years ago, however. The featherweight champion now has a UFC-best 13 straight wins and two dominant stoppages in title defenses.
Because of his resumé, ‘Blessed’ is significantly favored to hold on to his gold. So even though he’s beaten ‘Blessed,’ he’s still relishing the role of underdog. Poirier plans to shock the world in Georgia:
“I feel like as of lately I’ve heard people say this is an easy fight for Max – just a lot of stuff like that,” Poirier said. “The oddsmakers have it like that, not that I even care or play into that stuff. But it’s just I’m going to shock the world.”
Only A Step Towards His Real Goal
Even if he wins the interim lightweight title, however, Poirier’s work is far from done. He called the interim belt only a piece of the real championship and said tonight is the next step towards getting it:
“Tomorrow night, this is a piece of the world championship,” Poirier said. “I want the whole thing. But none of that is even a reality until tomorrow night happens, so I can’t even talk about it.”
