Dustin Poirier ended his legendary UFC career with a bold move – leaping into a jumping guillotine against Max Holloway at UFC 318.

It didn’t work – but for Poirier, it was a fitting farewell to the octagon and to a storied trilogy with one of his greatest rivals.

The moment came late in the second round after Poirier rocked Holloway with a flurry of strikes.
Rather than chase the finish with more punches, he followed his instincts and jumped for the guillotine – a technique that’s long been a trademark in his arsenal.

Speaking after the fight, Poirier made it clear he had no regrets:

When I had him hurt? Nah, never. Had to do one last one. One last one.
And damn, I really thought that was gonna be the one, man.

I had him hurt. But he rolled to his back, and I just couldn’t control it.

It was Poirier’s third fight with Holloway, a rivalry that spanned over a decade.

He won their first bout in 2012 with a Triangle Armbar and then took the second in 2019 via decision to claim the interim lightweight title.
While Holloway got the better of their final clash, Poirier was still thinking of how he could have performed better:

Going into the fifth, I thought it was close. I thought it might have been two and two.

So in the fifth, I could have put myself in harm’s way a little bit more. Maybe I would have got finished. Maybe I would have finished him.
I could have took more chances in the fifth.

Unaware that Holloway was ahead on the scorecards, Poirier chose a more cautious path in the closing moments.

He explained that his opponent’s footwork kept him hesitant:

I was trying to fight like a professional, be smart.
It seemed like he was waiting to counter me with his right hand every time I would come in.

The crazy thing is he never threw it, but his footwork and his movement was ready to throw that right hand.
So I didn’t wanna take too many risks, getting countered. I didn’t wanna miss and get countered.

And he had already hurt me in the second round.

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