With
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king Khabib
Nurmagemodov possibly out until November, an interim belt was
created and will be contested between current featherweight
titleholder Max
Holloway and No. 3-ranked lightweight Dustin
Poirier at UFC
236 on April 13.
These two explosive strikers have fought before, with Poirier
coming out victorious following a submission via mounted triangle
armbar. But a lot has changed since then as the numbers below
suggest.
Post-fight bonuses
Both fighters consistently deliver exciting fights and as a result,
have earned more post-fight bonuses than most people in their
respective weight classes. Holloway currently has seven (four
Performance of the Night, two Fight of the Night and one Knockout
of the Night) while Poirier has eight (five Fight of the Night,
three Performance of the Night and one Submission of the
Night).
UFC bouts at lightweight
Poirier started his professional career as a lightweight but
dropped down to featherweight when he moved to the UFC. After his
loss to Conor
McGregor at UFC 178, Poirier returned to 155 to knock out
Carlos
Diego Ferreira. Since then, he has not looked back, losing only
once to Michael
Johnson. Holloway, on the other hand, has been fighting at
featherweight since he entered the UFC in 2012 when he lost to
Poirier.
Both fighters love to stand and bang, and most of the time, they
come out victorious. This is especially true for Holloway who has
never been knocked out in his entire career. Poirier, though, has
two losses due to strikes, and these were to McGregor and
Johnson.
Striking accuracy
In a battle of elite strikers, the importance of accuracy can never
be overstated. Poirier parades a 50 percent striking accuracy,
landing 1,146 out of the 2,302 significant strikes he has thrown in
UFC competition. Holloway, on the other hand, has landed 1,627 out
of the 3,530 significant strikes he has thrown, making for a 46
percent striking accuracy. Poirier is a 21-fight UFC veteran while
Holloway has 19 fights inside the Octagon, which means he is the
more voluminous striker.
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