Dustin Poirier Makes Strong Statement on UFC Scorecards
Dustin Poirier isn't thrilled with how his exit from the UFC unfolded.
He spoke out about the judges' scorecards after his final fight, and loss, to Mike Holloway.
Obviously, I wanted to win,” Poirier said at the UFC 318 post-fight press conference, according to MMA Fighting.
“Max is a great fighter, a tough competitor. I just being inside the eye of the storm, it felt a lot closer to me. I really thought it might have been 2-2 going into the fifth," he said. "Mike Brown checked the scorecards when we got to the locker room and I think the judges gave me different rounds."
MMA Fighting called the fight a "five-round war" and "instant classic."
That wasn't all.
“I think all the judges gave him the second round. I thought I almost had him out. He hurt me, too, but I thought my shot when I followed up with elbows, I was cracking him," Poirier continued, per MMA Fighting.
#UFC318 Official Scorecard: Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) vs Dustin Poirier
— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 20, 2025
Complete Scorecards ➡️ https://t.co/GQLoLaheww pic.twitter.com/VYKoPrFkNB
"He told me in the medical tent, ‘Hey man, you had me out.’ We couldn’t hear the bell. Being in the fight, it felt a lot closer than that. When I heard the judges’ [scores], I was like no way. It was closer than that. Like the man says, it is what it is.”
Bleacher Report noted that Holloway "knocked" Poirier down in the first round and hurt him "again in the second" before he knocked Holloway down, sending the "New Orleans crowd into a frenzy."
That's it for Poirier.
"I wanted to go show I can compete and make it close to where I can say look I’m still at the top of my game," he said, according to Bleacher Report. "I’m going out because I want to. I wanted it to be a war and a drag-em-out fight."
Related: Andy Byron Resigns as Astronomer CEO. He's in a Social Media Firestorm