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Paddy Pimblett believes Dustin Poirier's retirement fight at UFC 318 might not go 'The Diamond's' way.
Standing against Poirier at the Smoothie King Center in Louisiana will be Max Holloway. The current BMF champion and a fighter he has already beaten on two occasions.
While this history might sway the MMA community to favor 'The Diamond' in their third meeting, 'The Baddy', for one, is convinced that this history will instead be fuel for the former featherweight champion to be more motivated to get the win.
During a recent interview on the Verse Us with Eric Nicksick podcast, the No.10 ranked UFC lightweight said:
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"It'd be heavy for Holloway that, like, if there are two different fighters who've beat him three times. I've seen him say something like, you know, 'He took a lot from me. He gave me my first loss, and he took away from me like an eight-fight win streak or whatever, so I'm going to take his retirement fight... I think Holloway is motivated. I can see Holloway winning, to be honest."
Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below: 1:02:12
Holloway and Poirier first crossed paths at UFC 143 in a featherweight bout during 'Blessed's' promotional debut, where 'The Diamond' earned a submission win in the opening round.
The pair then clashed after more than seven years at UFC 236, this time at 155 pounds, with the judges seeing it as a unanimous decision for Poirier.
'Blessed' is 3-2 in his last five, most recently suffering a devastating KO by Ilia Topuria. Poirier, meanwhile, is 2-3, suffering a fifth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev in his most recent bout.
When Paddy Pimblett lost his mind over Max Holloway's UFC 300 KO
Max Holloway's UFC 300 KO win over Justin Gaethje will forever go down as one of the greatest knockouts in combat sports history. Suffice it to say, much like the entire MMA fandom, Paddy Pimblett too lost his mind witnessing the buzzer-beater finish.
During the historic pay-per-view, Holloway took command early, injuring 'The Highlight's' nose with a spinning kick in the dying moments of the opening round. While there were moments of brilliance from Gaethje for the rest of the fight, it was the former featherweight champion who was leading the dance.
As the seconds ticked away in the last round, both fighters met in the middle of the octagon and started trading heavy shots. Holloway connected with a crisp right hand to the jaw, knocking his opponent out cold with one second left on the clock.
Watching the historic moment unfold, Pimblett was lost for words, before admitting that it was one of the "sickest" knockouts he'd ever seen.
Check out Paddy Pimblett's reaction below (7:50):
