Max Holloway’s win at UFC 318 was a career-first for his longtime head coach Ivan Flores.
After playing the evasive villain role throughout UFC 318 fight week, Max Holloway handed Dustin Poirier a loss in his retirement fight on Saturday in New Orleans. In a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate, Holloway outpointed Poirier by unanimous decision in a back-and-forth war between the three-time rivals.
Holloway nearly finished Poirier in the opening minutes of the fight, after dropping Poirier twice in 10 seconds in the first round. But Poirier was able to rally as the fight went on, nearly finishing Holloway with his striking and with a guillotine choke in Round 2.
The chaos that ensued at UFC 318, to no surprise from fight fans, led Holloway’s coach to take an alternate approach in between rounds.
Coach Ivan Flores explains how Max Holloway’s fight at UFC 318 was different than any other career bout
Fight fans might’ve noticed a more vocal Holloway corner in between, and during the rounds, at UFC 318. This was due to the frantic pace of the opening minutes that led Holloway’s coach to act in a way he hasn’t at any point in his coaching reign.
During a post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Holloway’s head coach Ivan Flores explained why UFC 318 was a first for him in coaching the BMF titleholder.
“This fight I had to talk a lot more, than usual,” Flores said of Holloway.
“He just needed to be reminded not to go straight back and whatnot. I think the thing is too, he hurt him earlier, and then after that he was just trying to line up one good shot. He hurt him a bunch, I just wanted him to be patient, and the opportunities would come. Dustin is a beast.
“Maybe [he’s fallen in love with his power] a little bit! Takes another 10 years off of my life with stress, but keeps it very exciting for us.”
Luckily for Holloway and Flores, the BMF champion listened to his coach’s pointed advice en route to a victory on the judges’ scorecards. Holloway’s win at UFC 318 left him without being swept in two trilogies in his career, which would’ve left a lasting impact on his legacy.
Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling believes Holloway took it easy on Poirier after two early knockdowns, claiming that Holloway could’ve finished the fight if he wouldn’t’ve ‘pulled back’ on his punches. As of this writing, Holloway hasn’t responded to Sterling’s assertions.
Now, Holloway is knocking on the door of potentially running it back with a former foe after UFC 318.
Max Holloway responded to Ilia Topuria’s post-fight troll job after UFC 318
After Holloway’s BMF title defense at UFC 318, Ilia Topuria claimed that the BMF belt is ‘still mine’ after knocking out Holloway at UFC 308. Holloway didn’t hold back in response, lambasting his former featherweight rival for carrying around a belt replica that he doesn’t own.
Topuria earned the then-vacant lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last month. He rose to No. 1 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings with the victory.
Topuria vs. Holloway 2 could potentially be the fight to make after UFC 318.
