“If I can get my hand, be the last BMF champion, and ride off into the sunset with the belt and retire, hey, that’s forever,” Dustin Poirier told MMA Junkie, flashing that same fight camp energy we are used to seeing from him. Hoisting a championship has always been a dream for ‘The Diamond,’ and now he’s got another shot at it. But man, it won’t be easy as standing across the cage would be none other than Max Holloway. Perhaps the best striker in all of UFC, ‘Blessed’ is as tough as they come. Moreover, the history between this duo is as legendary as their respective stature.

Holloway was just 20 years old when he jumped in on short notice at UFC 143, filling in for Ricardo Lamas. It was the Hawaiian’s first UFC fight, and he got thrown straight at a 23-year-old Poirier, who already had three fights under his belt. ‘The Diamond’ made quick work of him, locking up a triangle-armbar from mount in the first round and grabbing a Submission of the Night bonus. The duo then ran it back seven years later at UFC 236 and with interim 155lbs gold on the line. Once again, the Louisiana slugger picked up a hard-fought decision with both fighters leaving the cage bloodied and battered.

Add another six years to that fateful night in 2019, and we are about to witness the third and final chapter in this rivalry at UFC 318. This is less about the title and more about legacy, as ‘The Diamond’ looks to finish his incredible career in his hometown of Louisiana. Both guys are packing some ridiculous striking skills, and either one could take it. Holloway is 0-2 against Poirier, so you know he’s hungry to finally get that win. It’s a razor-thin matchup, no question, but Michael Bisping even believes that Max’s knockout power, the same one he showed against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, could be a real problem for Poirier in the fight.

‘The Count’ on his YouTube channel said, “It was fight of the year, one of the sickest knockouts that we’ve ever seen against Justin Gaethje. And that’s what makes me a little bit cautious for Dustin Poirier coming into this one. Because yes! Dustin has beaten Max twice before, but every single fight is different. That’s what I said to Luke Rockhold at UFC 199. He was so confident that he was going to knock me out. Yeah, he has beaten me before. But I said, ‘Listen, buddy! Every fight is different.”

He added, “And the second fight between Dustin and Max was kinda close, okay. It was a fantastic back-and-forth performance, and of course, Dustin was the victor. However, the last fight against Justin Gaethje was a beautiful performance. Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier. So, people of New Orleans, don’t come into this one expecting Dustin Poirier to walk away with this one unscathed.”

That’s a very obvious take from Bisping, but it obviously makes sense. Holloway looks like he’s carrying some different kind of mythical power at lightweight, and yeah, that could be a problem for anyone, not only for Poirier. Best Fight Odds has Holloway sitting as a -130 favorite right now, while Poirier’s coming in as a +110 underdog. So, at least for now, the betting lines are backing up what ‘The Count’ is saying.

Poirier did get brutally knocked out by Justin Gaethje with that head kick at UFC 291. But still, he’s made some real improvements, especially when it comes to his takedown defense. Recently, he went out to California and trained with his longtime teammate Mateusz Gamrot, who helped him prepare for the Islam Makhachev fight at UFC 302, and also got some work in with Bo Nickal. It’s pretty clear he’s thinking about showing more than just his hands. Also, ‘Blessed’ got knocked in his last fight, and ‘The Diamond’ believes that’s going to have some kind of effect when they meet.

Dustin Poirier wants to find out whether Max Holloway still has that legendary chin

Max Holloway’s iron chin finally got cracked by Ilia Topuria at UFC 308. ‘La Leyenda’ became the first guy to ever pull that off. And ever since, there’s been a real question about whether ‘Blessed’s chin is still the same. Dustin Poirier thinks that a knockout is gonna matter. He knows no fighter can keep taking big shots forever. More than anything, he’s excited to find out for himself at UFC 318. And he’ll be doing it right in front of his home crowd.

Poirier told MMA Junkie, “That’s a tough one! Of course, those knocks add up, but I thought he looked good on his feet. You kind of had those moments in the fight of finding his rhythm. And he was just hit with a good shot. This is fighting, you can’t recover from it all, somebody spins your chin like that, especially somebody like Ilia with tight, good technique. Maybe it was a shot he didn’t really see. We’ll find out, time will tell.”

As ‘The Diamond’ gets ready to close out his incredible UFC career, do you think he can grab the BMF belt one last time? Or do you agree with Michael Bisping that Holloway will finally avenge his two losses? Drop your thoughts below!