Dustin Poirier has given his take on Conor McGregor’s UFC 329 comeback fight against Max Holloway, zeroing in on power, durability, and how their styles could collide over 25 minutes.
McGregor is slated to return against Holloway in the UFC 329 headliner on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, his first fight since suffering a broken leg in the first round of their trilogy bout at UFC 264 in July 2021. Poirier has faced both men three times, going 2-1 in each trilogy.
“Conor has the power,” Poirier said, later adding, “No matter the injury that's going to be there still, the timing – other things matter. But the power is going to be here. This is going to be a firefight. Oliveira was able to smother (Holloway), which I was surprised by, because Max is hard to hold down. Conor is going to kickbox with him for 25 minutes. He has a puncher's chance.”
Poirier also highlighted Holloway’s evolving threat at higher weights. “Max for sure is a volume puncher, but at '55 when I fought him last, he has power behind his shots, and I've got to think at 170 he's got to have even more power, because Max can punch now. He's not just a volume puncher. He can finish fights.”
At the same time, Poirier pointed to recent knockdowns Holloway has suffered, saying, “The thing that I keep thinking about is in Max's last three fights, he's touched the canvas more times than he's touched his whole career,” before noting, “(Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria) dropped him, I dropped him. That's his last few fights. If Max's chin is finally catching up to the style of fighting he does, Conor could put him down.”
