Paddy Pimblett thinks the moment could be too big for Dustin Poirier to handle at UFC 318.
Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) will make his final walk to the octagon in a trilogy bout against BMF champion Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) on July 19 from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). With Poirier retiring in his hometown and already having beaten Holloway twice, Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) sees “Blessed” with more to gain.
“It would be heavy for Holloway if there’s two different fighters who have beat him three times,” Pimblett said on the “Verse Us Podcast” with Eric Nicksick. “I’ve seen him say something like, ‘He took a lot from me, he gave me my first loss, and he took away my win streak, so I’m going to take his retirement fight.’
“I think Holloway’s motivated. I can see Holloway winning, to be honest. Don’t know why. I think it’s just one of them. Dustin fighting in his hometown, his last fight, everyone expects him to win, the pressure. I think he might (win). You might think it’s a bit more favorable because he beat him twice, though.”
Pimblett is edging closer to title contention after a dominant finish of Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April. He faced off with newly crowned lightweight champion Ilia Topuria immediately after the conclusion of the UFC 317 main event.
