Dustin Poirier's coach explains how Max Holloway won UFC 318 trilogy fight, points out when fight began "getting away"

Dustin Poirier's boxing coach recently opened up about his fighter's retirement bout against Max Holloway at UFC 318 last weekend. The veteran trainer pointed out when the fight started going Holloway's way and said that he tried to get Poirier to increase his striking volume in between rounds.

Poirier and Holloway threw down in an exciting BMF title fight in the main event of UFC 318 last weekend. While Poirier had his moments, Holloway's striking was too much for the Louisiana native to handle, and he ultimately lost the fight via unanimous decision.

In the aftermath, 'The Diamond' laid his gloves down in the middle of the octagon and announced his retirement after a long and storied career. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Poirier's boxing coach, Dyah Davis, addressed the fight and said:

"I felt like I needed more volume. We had to keep up with Max's pace... In between rounds, I was asking for more volume... After Round 2, I kind of felt like the fight was getting away from us a little bit."

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He continued:

"I was trying to be instrumental in the corner to make sure he could go out there and change the direction of the fight. Even though he almost finished him in the second, going into Round 3 and Round 4, the writing was a little bit on the wall. To try to change the trajectory of the fight, I needed more output." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Dustin Poirier addresses his UFC 318 performance against Max Holloway

Dustin Poirier recently got real about his performance against Max Holloway at UFC 318 last weekend. Poirier admitted that Holloway did more than he did to win the encounter and broke down how he could have done better.

In an interview with Mike Bohn, Poirier reflected on his last fight in the UFC octagon and said:

''Going through the fight and immediately my thoughts about what just happened, it was like I thought I did enough. I thought I did enough. And then I got back and I watched it... I can see him winning rounds, throwing more volume, landing body shots, pulling away in rounds. So, what I watched was different than what I felt.''

He continued:

''I think in there, I felt like in between rounds talking to my boxing coach, I could have taken more chances, but I was trying to protect myself at the same time, and I never really fought like that before. I would always put myself in harm's way to land the big shots, and this one I didn't, and maybe that's a sign that the decision I made was the right one. Self-preservation, get home to my family safe, that type of thing."

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Edited by Nishant Zende.