Dustin Poirier vs Max Holloway 3
Poirier and Holloway have fought twice previously, once in 2012 at featherweight and most recently in 2019 at lightweight in a bout for the interim lightweight title. This fight will be at lightweight, which is notable given how their 2019 fight went. In that fight, Poirier clearly had a power and size advantage and managed to wobble Holloway multiple times, which was especially impressive at the time given Holloway’s iron chin.
Holloway is coming off one of the best wins of his career in his last fight at lightweight, where he recorded an epic knockout of Justin Gaethje with just one second left in the fight. However, Holloway was brutally knocked out by Ilia Topuria in his most recent fight, which was at featherweight. This is especially notable because once an iron chin gets cracked, the ability for the brain to take a punch can diminish. Poirier landed a lot of power shots to Holloway’s head in their 2019 fight, and it’s fair to wonder if Holloway will still be able to absorb those strikes from Poirier after suffering such a brutal KO loss nine months ago.
Despite being 36 years old and on the verge of retirement, Poirier is still a high-level fighter and has gas left in the tank. Poirier is coming off a title-fight loss to No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev in a fight where Poirier put on a respectable showing. Prior to that, Poirier knocked out Benoit Saint Denis with a vicious lead right hook, which is Poirier’s signature strike.
Poirier’s power and size advantage should give him the edge in this fight again, which makes the Poirier Moneyline appealing at +120. The Poirier Alternate Point Spread of -5.5 gives a higher plus-money payout at +175, which could be useful in the event Poirier wins a decisive decision. Taking Poirier to win by KO/TKO/DQ at +330 is also a higher-paying option given Poirier’s power advantage combined with Holloway’s recent KO loss.
Pick: Dustin Poirier Moneyline (+120)
Other bet to consider: Dustin Poirier -5.5 Alternate Point Spread (+175)
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