The time is nigh. The first domino of the UFC’s lightweight division’s golden generation is set to fall. Dustin Poirier has announced that his farewell fight is set to take place at UFC 318 on July 19 in New Orleans, near his hometown of Lafayette. And who is going to be his partner for his last dance? Well, it turns out the rumors were true! Poirier is going to have a trilogy fight with Max Holloway on the Smoothie King Center card.

Some, including Poirier, feel that Justin Gaethje, with whom ‘The Diamond’ has had two absolute bangers already, would have been most fans’ first pick in a draft for Poirier’s last opponent, for reasons we will let Poirier explain. “I was asking [UFC matchmaker] Hunter [Campbell] for Gaethje, because we’re 1-1, I wanted to close out that trilogy,” the former interim champ told ‘MMA Junkie’ in a recent interview.

However, it seems for some reason, the UFC was insistent on Holloway. “For some reason, they really wanted this fight [with Holloway]. So I said, ‘that’s cool because I respect the guy for my last fight,'” he added. Another reason that the Gaethje fight did not happen, perhaps, is that ‘The Highlight’ himself doesn’t want to fight Poirier. “I’ve stated this many times: I don’t think either one of our families deserves that. We’re 1-1, and I’m okay with it,” Gaethje said after his UFC 313 victory over Rafael Fiziev.

Indeed, their first fight at UFC on FOX 29 was a back-and-forth strike-fest, where Poirier managed to stop ‘The Highlight’ in the fourth round. Their second fight at UFC 291, where the resurrected BMF title for up for grabs, also ended in a stoppage, with Gaethje knocking out the Louisianan with a fantastic head kick in the second round. There is no doubt their third fight would have been just as violent, probably more, so it’s easy to see why their families wouldn’t like the idea of them fighting again. But there is another, less obvious name that Poirier wanted to fight, which might surprise some people.

Dustin Poirier did not get his wish to fight Ilia Topuria from Dana White and Co.

“When [Ilia Topuria] said he was going to 155, I texted the UFC and said ‘hey, let me know what’s going on with this guy’. But they never entertained it, they told me it’s not happening, and they wanted Max,” Poirier admitted.

The reason for denying Topuria could be that the UFC wanted the freshly moved-up Ilia Topuria to fight for the lightweight title. Well, champion Islam Makahchev has poured cold water on those plans, but ‘La Leyenda’ has vowed to sit out until Makhachev relents. Indeed, the former featherweight champ is now rumored to be fighting for the title at UFC 317 this June 28.

Topuria-Poirier would have been a great fight. But neither Topuria nor the UFC is in the mood for it. This makes Max Holloway the logical choice for Poirier to fight in his last-ever Octagon appearance. After all, as Poirier pointed out, he did say his last fight was going to be a “legends only” affair. And Holloway, one of the greatest featherweights of all time, certainly fits that bill. Poirier has won both of their fights so far. ‘The Diamond’ submitted ‘Blessed’ in the first round at UFC 143. But that was Holloway’s UFC debut, a fight which he had taken on short notice.

Their second fight at UFC 236 was much closer as the duo went to war for five rounds for the interim lightweight title. At the end of five, Poirier won a decision, snapping Holloway’s thirteen-fight win streak. But then again, ‘Blessed’ was a featherweight back then. Now the Hawaii native is a lightweight and holds the BMF belt, so technically, Poirier’s last ever UFC fight will be for a title.

Maybe Gaethje-Poirier 3 would have been a better fight, you won’t find anyone complaining about ‘The Diamond’ taking on the legendary Max Holloway. What do you think about Dustin Poirier’s revelations about his farewell fight?