Max Holloway has drawn a difficult task for his next fight on UFC 318.
His legend status has put him in position to be the last opponent of Dustin Poirier in the Octagon in the first place.
The two men also have history with each other, with Poirier Welcome Holloway on the promotion at UFC 143 before they met in an epic rematch in 2019.
While 'blessed' New Orleans will merge as the bad guy, he embraces the role of spoiler, even if he has a lot of respect for 'The Diamond'.
His motivation to end Poirier's career about a loss comes from their previous history and how the result can influence its own legacy, as well as that of his opponent.
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Max Holloway is motivated for UFC 318 by not going 0-3 in two trilogies
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Max Holloway was asked if the first man to successfully defended the BMF title is something that motivates him for this fight.
'Blessed' responded and said that although this has not been taken in his way of thinking, there is a historical fact that this matchup is hanging.
After UFC 318, Dustin Poirier is not the only opponent that Holloway stands for three times.
He also participated in a trilogy of fighting with Alexander Volkanovski, while the two men were clearly the two best featherweights in the world.
While some conjure up the result of their second fight in particular, Volkanovski got his hand lifted in all three of their encounters.
Holloway has been beaten twice by Poirier and is motivated by the idea of possibly ending his career without winning a victory in two iconic trilogies, which does not do his incredible career -justice.
“You know, it's it. It's another Fight. I'M F— 0-3 in One trilogy. I'm not trying to be 0-3 in Two trilogies so that's the main thing going through my mind right now. But the main history I'm not trying to make is to be who fought two different trilogies and went 0-3 … I know it's last dance but i gotta play the spoiler here, I need this. ”
Max Holloway believes that there is only one way to even the score to complete the trilogy
Although Max Holloway cannot come to the top of this trilogy after his two previous losses for Dustin Poirier, there is certainly a way in which he can close it in style.
Despite the fact that their second fight is an incredibly back and forth UFC title, neither of them has included a KO or TKO victory on the other.
A victory is clearly the most important thing, but Holloway is hopeful that he can produce the finish to make this third fight as decisive as the first where Poirier achieved the entry victory.
“The only right way to get a trilogy with me and him is the first, he got the sub. Second, he won a decision, so let's find out this trilogy. Hopefully we get a ko in this with me on the winning side. That would be cool.”