Under the lights of smoothie King Centre, two warriors traded heavy blows and gave everything they had till the end. The finale of the card wasn’t about just another win on their record, but to honour the sport, their stories and each other, capping off an emotional night for New Orleans. 

Max Holloway came out victorious with a unanimous decision, gaining his first win against Poirier and bouncing back from his previous loss to Illia Touporia. Dustin Poirier, who laid his gloves on the canvas after his last bout in the octagon, there was not a single dry eye left in the stadium.

Despite all that was on the line for both fighters, they truly defined the meaning of this belt. Both coming out quick, Holloway got all MMA fans off their seats inside two minutes after a right hand slipped through Poirier’s guard and caught him falling to the canvas. Holloway hunted for the finish with vicious ground and pound, but the ‘Diamond’ was resilient. 

Holloway’s speed and fluidity with combinations was proving to be effective by wobbling Poirier with a straight right hand. At the end of round two, the heavy right fist put Holloway on his knees and the Diamond tried to get his famous guillotine in the dying moments, but Holloway survived.

Holloway’s relentless pressure and sharp sequences were doing more damage making him the favourite heading into the championship rounds. The fight ended in trademark BMF fashion by pointing down to the centre of the octagon, unleashing their bloody hands in the last 10 seconds. The fight went to the score cards with all three referees scoring the bout (48-47), (49-46), (49-46) in favour of the ‘Pride of Hawaii’.

The fight was more than a title, a story filled with violence, closing a chapter in one of the greatest stories told inside the octagon and one of the most heartfelt rivalries. Despite the ‘Diamond’ beating ‘Blessed’ in their two previous encounters, Holloway prevented a famous 0-6 record of trilogies including his battles with Alexander Volkanovski.

They first fought each other in Holloway’s UFC debut dating back to 2012, for their last fight to be Poirier’s retirement over 13 years later. It truly is testament to their careers and longevity.