Dustin Poirier says both he and Max Holloway have developed too much to refer back to their previous fights ahead of UFC 318.
Poirier welcomed Holloway to the UFC in 2012, fought him in a rematch seven years later, and will retire from MMA after a third fight with his fellow veteran this weekend.
Poirier meets Holloway in the UFC’s longest-standing trilogy on SaturdayGetty Images - GettyThe pair’s trilogy is the longest-standing in the promotion’s history and headlines UFC 318 in Poirier’s hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday night.
‘The Diamond’ beat Holloway on both occasions when they previously met, but isn’t using those victories as inspiration or motivation ahead of his final bout.
“We’re both different,” Poirier told the Fitz Take Podcast, speaking on the difference between now and his previous fights with Holloway.
“We’ve learnt a lot, had some huge fights between us, fought some great opponents.
“Since our last fight, he’s gone on to win belts and fight the best in the world, and I’ve gone on to fight the best in the world.”
Poirier submitted Holloway in the first round of their inaugural meeting at UFC 143 in February 2012.
In the seven years that passed, both men fought it out in the headline act of UFC 236 with an interim lightweight title on the line this time around.
The bout went the distance, but Poirier earned a convincing unanimous decision before losing an undisputed title bout to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.
He has since picked up victories over fighters including Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, but lost two further shots at lightweight gold to Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev in his last outing.
Holloway, a former UFC featherweight champion, suffered the first knockout defeat of his career in his last fight against Ilia Topuria.
Poirier was submitted by Makhachev at UFC 302 in his last fightGetty Holloway was knocked out when he last entered the Octagon against Topuria in OctoberGettyThis came after he had embarked on a three-fight win streak, which concluded with an iconic KO win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Poirier knows what it takes to beat Holloway, but knows how much better his opponent will be at UFC 318.
“You grow in this sport – we’re not the same people,” he added.
“We’ve wasted years if we’re still the same people. You do things better, smarter, with your recovery, with your technique, with everything.
“That’s why I’m not looking back on our second fight or even our first fight way back. This is a completely new fight.”
Poirier concluded by revealing that he is most looking forward to simply becoming ‘a civilian’ again after retiring from MMA.
Poirier said he’s not thinking about his previous Holloway fights, as they’re no longer the same peopleGettyHe admitted that his hands are full in terms of his various businesses and non-profit organisation, but asserted he plans to do more work with the UFC and ESPN as a desk analyst to ‘keep me connected’ with the sport.
Holloway, meanwhile, is hoping for a rematch with Topuria after fighting Poirier.
However, ‘Blessed’ believes this is only possible if he creates another spectacular moment, just like he did by knocking out Gaethje at UFC 300.
Holloway vs Poirier 3 takes place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on July 19.
The early prelims are set to begin at 11.15pm GMT, with the prelims starting at 1am GMT.
UFC 318’s main card is then expected to start at 3am GMT on July 20.
Paulo Costa takes on Roman Kopylov in the co-main event on the night, while Kevin Holland faces Daniel Rodriguez, Dan Ige fights Patricio Pitbull, and Michael Johnson comes up against Daniel Zellhuber, all on the main card.
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