Dustin Poirier cashed in on his first ever UFC title shot last night (Sat., April 13, 2019) at UFC 236 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, when he bloodied featherweight champion Max Holloway en route to claiming the interim lightweight title via unanimous decision.
Poirier opened up the first round in a flurry as he bombed Holloway with huge right hands. Holloway somehow hung on and pulled off his best zombie to avoid a decisive blow. Holloway rebounded in the second round with some nice work to the body, but Poirier’s right hand surfaced again towards the end of the frame. Holloway was wobbled yet remained active on his feet.
More pressure from Poirier in the third as he landed at an incredible clip. Holloway kept busy with forward strikes and punches to the body, but “Diamond” fired back with more power. “Blessed” dug deep and flipped the script late into the round with volume striking and elbows in the clinch. The fourth round opened up with a Holloway flurry but Poirier was able to secure a timely takedown. Holloway got back to his feet and started to tag Poirier along the cage. “Diamond” remained tough and ended up cutting Holloway badly which leaked blood all over the Octagon canvas.
A cirsp jab by Holloway started the fifth. Poirier returned the favor with a blistering left hand. Hollowed kept active with punches in bunches but his shots didn’t have much pop on them anymore. Poirier returned with power punches that checked Holloway and did even more damage to the face of “Blessed.”
Check out the full fight video highlights above and below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:
The final :10!!
Who do you have winning between @BlessedMMA & @DustinPoirier?! pic.twitter.com/89Y7oL5c33
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2019
The knee that cut Holloway!
2-2 heading into round 5? What’s your scorecard say? #UFC236 pic.twitter.com/t4ur17DRh1
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2019
Holloway talking trash while wearing the crimson mask! Wow!#UFC236 pic.twitter.com/uEtQEjzzn7
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2019
NASTY elbows landing for @BlessedMMA! #UFC236 pic.twitter.com/B6rv5XDJLw
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2019
Poirier fires and Holloway shakes it off #UFC236#UFC236 ?? https://t.co/EJRAMyfmlc pic.twitter.com/4fptRtIA1Z
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 14, 2019
UFC 189 flashbacks!!!#UFC236 pic.twitter.com/dcqU43XUsF
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2019
Here we go!#UFC236 pic.twitter.com/z624dNtDZg
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2019
For complete UFC 236 results and coverage click here.