Dustin Poirier did not expect Charles Oliveira to make it look so easy against Max Holloway at UFC 326.
Oliveira (37-11 MMA, 24-11 UFC) dominated Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) on the ground to claim the BMF title in Saturday’s main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Oliveira took down Holloway five times and controlled him for more than 20 minutes.
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Poirier, who had picked Holloway to win, said he saw his former opponent lose in unprecedented fashion.
“That was complete domination,” Poirier said on the UFC on Paramount+ post show. “I thought coming into this fight, there was going to be moments where Max was in trouble, moments where he might be on the fence, might be on his back. But I didn’t think it was going to be 25 minutes.
“We’ve never seen Max dominated like that. Charles looked possessed out there. He walked Max down, got his back to the fence, and with these awkward takedowns. It wasn’t fundamental, traditional wrestling. He just powered him to the ground with hip tosses, body locks, and Max had no answer for the takedowns.”
Poirier’s final-career fight came in a unanimous decision loss to Holloway for the BMF title at UFC 318 last July.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dustin Poirier surprised Max Holloway was dominated at UFC 326
