Israel Adesanya weighs in on Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy fight

Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier will make his final walk to the octagon in tonight's UFC 318 main event in New Orleans. "The Diamond" takes on former featherweight champion and current 'BMF' titleholder Max Holloway in a trilogy bout. 

The trilogy fight comes 13 years after the two met for the first time in a featherweight match at UFC 143 in February 2012. Poirier handed Holloway his first career loss that night in Las Vegas. Their paths would cross again in 2019 for the interim lightweight championship. Poirier won the fight via unanimous decision to pick up the interim title and a second victory over Holloway.

Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya gave his breakdown of the match up and provided a prediction for its outcome. 

"Max at lightweight, I like it. You saw what he did with Justin Gaethje. I feel Max has developed himself over the years. He's still young, 33. Dustin is 36. Not really young in the fight game but he's very well experienced as a veteran. He knows what to do to beat Max. He's done it before, twice," Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. 

"Max has to fight smart. He has to be disciplined with his footwork. He has to be disciplined with his aggression because Dustin is going to want to press and do what he does," Adesanya continued. 

Adesanya pointed out Poirier's ability to quickly recover after being hurt in a fight and Holloway's seemingly endless gas tank. Each fight is a different fight and Adesanya believes the third time could be a charm for Holloway. 

"This is a new fight, a new day and for him (Poirier) to get this done and retire on top beating Max three times, that would be a feather in his cap, a good way to walk off into the sunset. But Max is going to try to spoil the party with the Blessed Express," Adesanya said. "I'm going to go Max in this fight."