Here are our top Dustin Poirier v Max Holloway betting tips. UFC 236 comes to us from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday 13th April and it’s a show packed with talent that can be followed by British fans live on BT Sport. The card is expected to get underway around midnight, with the main event carrying a 4.00am advertised buzzer time.
There’s plenty designed to hold the interest of fight fans, with a number of evenly matched bouts on the card, but the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest is the main event, featuring Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title.
This is a rematch fans have been crying out for since the pair put in stunning battle on UFC 143, a bout Poirier won by first round submission. Neutrals will be hoping this one brings as much drama and we’re confident they will get their wish, with both men fancying their chances at landing the desired result. The first meeting took place at featherweight. How much will change with the added weight and strength of both men?
Our team of big fight enthusiasts and sports betting experts run the rule over the main event as they aim to dig up a bet worth having and one that will see you profit from the evening. They have also put in the hard work needed to ensure you’ll be advised on which bookmakers are offering best price on the markets that matter. Getting the most for your stake money is vitally important when it comes to beating the bookies.
Ready to Step Up
Max Holloway is the current ruler of the featherweight division. Is he ready for the move up to become a two-weight world champion? Many insiders believe so and the 27-year-old from Hawaii will arrive at the venue confident in his ability to do just that.
The chance to add another important win to his CV will be the driving force behind a punishing training schedule, but the chance to level the score and gain a bit of revenge on Poirier won’t go unnoticed. Blessed will be determined to right the wrongs of their first meeting and ensure his opponent feels the sting of defeat that has haunted him since that early stoppage loss.
The 5ft 11inch Holloway has a fighting style that’s heavily reliant on his background competing in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and he’ll be hoping to call on the lessons learned there to see him upstage a respected rival. Max brings a professional MMA record showing 20 wins from 23 starts with 10 of his victories coming by way of knockout, two by submission and the other eight on the scorecards.
Form Points to Knockout Win
He carries dangerous attacks, but also boasts the education needed to impress the judges. An early starter to the MMA fight game, he has progressed and impressed throughout his career until becoming the most feared fighter at featherweight.
Holloway was last seen beating Brian Ortega on UFC 231 with the UFC featherweight title on the line, a belt successfully defended by Max. As well as his own strap, the victor also earned performance of the night and fight of the night awards and that means he is in the ideal position to step-up and prove he can be just as devastating at lightweight. It’s a big ask, but Holloway lacks nothing in form, confidence and self-belief.
A look at Max’s recent form shows he has won each of his last four bouts by stoppage, with that hit-list made up of wins over Anthony Pettis, two vs Jose Aldo and that success when matched with Brian Ortega. That has impressed bookmakers and they have revenge more likely that repeat in this fight. Punters can get their hands on a decent 4/9 at Ladbrokes on Holloway. Another KO/TKO appeals on the back of that run of early nights and makes more sense than investing your cash on this one to go the distance, resulting in a rare points win.
Same Old Story
Opponent Dustin Poirier will be impressed by how his old rival has come on since beating him in Las Vegas back in 2012, but he will be hoping for the same old story and will look to catch Holloway early and inflict another stoppage win. Excuses can be made by Max and his team, but there’s no doubting Dustin was on fire that night, leaving his opponent and the crowd in no doubt as to who the top dog was.
Since then Poirier has tackled weight issues by moving up to lightweight and that has allowed him to forge on with his career. The 30-year-old from Louisiana is a 5ft 9inch orthodox fighter who brings a background fighting in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a discipline where he achieved the rank of black belt. The American Top Team fighter has won 24 of his previous 30 MMA bouts with five defeats and one no contest. Concentrating on his wins for a second, we see he has claimed a dozen by knockout and seven by submission, with the other five coming on the scorecards.
Moving over to his losses and the four of those are divided by two knockouts and a couple by decision. He was stopped by Conor McGregor in the first round in 2014 in front of a Las Vegas audience before Michael Johnson halted him in round one of a 2016 meeting at UFC Texas. The latter was his most recent defeat and he has won four times since, although there’s one no contest on his card when illegal knee attacks were used in a bout with Eddie Alvarez.
Winning Run
Since losing to Johnson, Poirier has claimed four wins, with two knockouts, a submission and one points win. The first of those came when beating Jim Miller by a majority decision on UFC 208, before suffering the set-back of that no contest. A submission cheer followed when getting the upper hand over Anthony Pettis in Norfolk late in 2017. On his penultimate start, Dustin scored the first of two knockout wins in-a-row when downing Justin Gaethje with a heavy barrage of punches in Arizona last year.
That win earned him both Performance of the Night and 2018 Fight of the Year and that seriously boosted the fighter’s confidence on the back of a difficult run. He was last seen cutting down Eddie Alvarez last summer at Calgary, Alberta in Canada when scoring another TKO result, as well as another Performance of the Night bonus in a memorable UFC on Fox card.
Despite that form, Poirier is second favourite to repeat the feat and beat Holloway for the second time, a result that would stretch his record to four wins on the spin. Traders don’t seem overly impressed by that turnaround in fortunes, but the underdog will have his fair share of supporters, both in attendance on fight night and those looking to take advantage of his price. He is better than the bookies give him credit for, and we wouldn’t be in a rush to talk anyone out of a bet at interest stakes on him upsetting the odds. Bet365 offer 15/8 and, in a fight as close as this one is sure to be, that’s difficult to put a line through.
Our Tip: Poirier to win – 15/8 at Bet365
Don’t forget to check out other top betting tips and our best MMA betting strategies.