Dustin Poirier recently warned UFC star Conor McGregor against underestimating Max Holloway ahead of their UFC 329 clash. McGregor will face off against Holloway during the promotion’s International Fight Week at the T-Mobile Arena on July 12. The former two-division UFC champion, who holds a 22-6 professional record, last competed in July 2021 in a technical knockout loss to Poirier.
Poirier also knows Holloway properly after fighting him in a 155-Ib bout. In a recent podcast, Poirier shares a first-person perspective on Holloway’s finishing power. In essence, he threw out a warning to McGregor and his well-wishers, asking them to be wary of Holloway’s potential threat. While McGregor’s defeat against Holloway in a 2013 featherweight bout puts him at a slight mental advantage, Poirier warns the Irishman against conceit.
Poirier tells a personal story about Holloway’s punching power.
McGregor enters the fight with a 22-6 record against Holloway’s 27-9 in what promises to be a historic night. Three years after losing to Poirier by a technical knockout, the former two-division UFC champion planned a return fight against Michael Chandler in June 2024. However, he canceled the bout after sustaining a toe injury. This time, he returns with massive support from the UFC, who reportedly put him on a mouthwatering payday to secure this fight. Yet, despite McGregor’s “favorite” tag, Poirier’s comments during a UFConParamount podcast lwouldn’t underestimate Holloway.
“At 155 when I fought him last, he had power behind his shots. I gotta think in 170 he’s gonna have even more power. Max can punch now; he’s not just a volume puncher; he can finish fights.”
Holloway, who is a former featherweight champion, has defeated big-name fighters like Dustin Poirier, Aldo, Justin Gaethje, and Frankie Edgar. He moved to the lightweight division in 2025 and has gone 1-1 since the transition. With such decent career stats, there’s no denying that his clash against McGregor will make a befitting headliner for the UFC community.
