UFC 318 mailbag: Reflecting on Dustin Poirier’s career and where Max Holloway goes next

Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway | Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

Dustin Poirier is officially done fighting, and Max Holloway remains the ‘BMF’ champion.

On Saturday, UFC 318 went down in New Orleans, where in the main event, Holloway finally got a win over Poirier, winning a unanimous decision in one of the better fights of 2025. It was the final fight of Poirier’s storied career, and now that he’s gone, raises questions about his place in MMA history, along with where Max goes from here.

So, with plenty to discuss, let’s address your questions this week.

Dustin Poirier’s legacy

Putting money aside, would you rather have Dustin’s or Islam’s lightweight career?

This is a really good question, and while I think a lot of people would say Poirier — with good reason — I’m still going to side with Islam Makhachev. But it’s not as straightforward as you might believe.

The case for picking Islam is easy: he’s dramatically more accomplished in MMA than Poirier is. Makhachev held an undisputed title, set the record for most title defenses at lightweight, and was the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport for some chunk of time. That’s huge, and the sort of thing that will stand the test of time as new generations of fans enter the sport.

The case for Poirier is a little more difficult but still important: Poirier is beloved. Sure, Makhachev is almost universally respected, but does anyone love him? Not really. In fact, most of Makhachev’s prime years have been him as the spoiler, the great darkness to overcome. First it was Charles Oliveira, then it was Alexander Volkanovski that fans cheered for, then it was Poirier, and now it’s Ilia Topuria. The broader public has never gotten behind Makhachev, and he’s never connected with them emotionally in the way Poirier has.

There’s also the matter that if you remove any considerations for title defenses, Poirier has fought a tougher strength of schedule, and arguably has better wins. That’s not Makhachev’s fault — you can only fight who is there to fight — but the poison pill in his title reign still stands out: it’s mostly featherweights.

Still, for as great as Poirier’s career was, I have to go with Makhachev, and it’s the pound-for-pound spot that really puts it over the top. If Makhachev was just the undisputed lightweight champion, maybe I could be convinced to trade that for the love and respect of everyone else. But Makhachev is the best fighter on Earth, and that’s something a precious few people have been able to claim. Gotta side with him.

Lightweight

The greatest generation of lightweights we’ve ever seen is over Jed, can we get an ode to the lightweights of 2017-2025.

So we’re clear, this wasn’t just the greatest generation of lightweights we’ve ever seen, it was the greatest generation of fighters in one weight class. Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Tony Ferguson just to name the biggest ones. And that doesn’t include guys like Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, and Michael Chandler, who are in the conversation as well. It’s a crop of ludicrous talent that has done the impossible: continue to hang on.

Generations of fighters almost never stick around for very long. It’s incredibly difficult to hang on to a spot in the Top 10 for years on end, much less for multiple people to do so. The new blood comes in and forces the old blood out. But that hasn’t happened at 155. There have been a few new entrants (Arman Tsarukyan) but every time a new contender arose, the old guard sent them packing. Rafael Fiziev, Benoit Saint Denis, Dan Hooker, and more, simply couldn’t break through and put the old dogs out to pasture. This sort of longevity is special in one person, much less a whole crop of them, and we aren’t likely to see it again anytime soon.

But it’s not entirely over yet. Gaethje and Oliveira are still kicking around and while their time at the top seems near its end, these old war horses have shown time and again not to count them out. We may have a few fights left.

Hall of Fame

How many fights do Dustin Justin and Max deserve in the hall of fame if there’s not a limit on it?

First, let’s just address this: Dustin Poirier is going in the Hall of Fame and he clearly deserves it. No, he never won an undisputed title, but he is an integral part of the history of this generation of fighters. If you are setting up your Hall of Fame where it doesn’t include guys like Poirier, then you’re doing it wrong. Just have a Hall of Champions.

Now to your question. For Max, four fights should be in the Hall of Fame: Dustin 2 and 3, Gaethje, and Alexander Volkanovski 2. For Dustin, six: Max 2 and 3, Gaethje 1, Korean Zombie, Dan Hooker, and Chandler.

But here’s the thing, both men should have more that get in. I have two major frustrations with the UFC Hall of Fame. The first is that inducting one fight a year is outrageously stupid. Every year there’s another Fight of the Year, meaning by definition the UFC is staying behind the curve on fight inclusion. There are dozens of fights that deserve recognition, and they should induct two or three a year, just like with fighters.

Second, they only induct fights, not performances. There are countless important performances that will never be inducted because the fight wasn’t exception. I’m thinking specifically of something like Poirier’s win over Conor McGregor in their second fight. That fight was fine, but not outrageous, but the moment and the significance was massive. That should be in the Hall of Fame. Maybe one day they’ll fix it to allow for exactly this sort of thing.

Max Holloway

Did Max’s chin look a little bit suspect to you?

Yeah, man. Max looked incredible in most ways on Saturday, but I’m now virtually certain his chin ain’t what it once was. There’s no shame in that, the man had an ALL-TIME great chin, but he’s taken so much damage over the years. That adds up.

Max has now been dropped in three straight fights, including his first TKO loss. Poirier has always been a big puncher but still, once a fighter starts getting dropped a bunch, you know that we’re on the home stretch. Max is great so this doesn’t necessarily mean his career is on borrowed time, but it is something to consider moving forward.

Rematch

What should Max do different relatively to the first fight if he were to face Ilia again, this time at 155?

Not accept the fight.

I’m not even joking. I know that Max wants another crack at Ilia Topuria, and there’s even a growing collection of fans who want to see it, but I am not one of them. yes, Max at lightweight has a little more power, which is nice, but that fight would only be worse for him.

Max’s chin is not the same as it once was. He’s had a lot of years in the fight game, and he’s on the downslope. Topuria is not. He’s still getting better. Which means a worse version of Topuria thumped a better version of Max last year. That doesn’t bode well for a future version of both.

And what does Max need the lightweight belt for anyway? I know fighters like shiny things, but he already has a belt. Defend that belt. I would really like to see Max build some level of credibility in the BMF title by treating it like a real belt, not an accessory. Because so long as Max holds the fake title, it feels real. So defend the BMF belt against the most fun opponents possible, and let Ilia do the work of being an actual divisional champion — if he’ll even consent to do that.

Thanks for reading, and thank you for everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.