Dustin Poirier's boxing coach pinpoints when Max Holloway fight was 'getting away from us'
Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) came up short of his fairytale retirement end this past Saturday when he dropped a unanimous decision to Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) in their BMF title trilogy bout in front of a raucous home state crowd in Louisiana.
It was a largely thrilling affair, with Poirier getting hurt by strikes in the first and second rounds before nearly scoring a wild finish of his own late in Round 2. It was during that time where Davis, who served as a longtime boxing coach to Davis, started to see where the fight was really trending, and did his best to alter it.
"I felt like I needed more volume," Davis told MMA Junkie. "We had to keep up with Max's pace. There were instances in the fight where I was asking him to be first, or, 'If you land a good shot to follow it up. You've got to test the water to see if the guy is hurt. You land a big shot, you've got to follow up and put him away.' In between rounds I was asking for more volume.
"After Round 2, I kind of felt like the fight was getting away from us a little bit. I was trying to be instrumental in the corner to make sure he could go out there and change the direction of the fight. Even though he almost finished him in the second, going into Round 3 and Round 4, the writing was a little bit on the wall. In order to try to change the trajectory of the fight, I needed more output."
Poirier, 36, couldn't deliver that output and lost by 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46 scorecards. Holloway outlanded him 198-to-109 in significant strikes, with each being credited with one knockdown.
"I try to watch the fight from an unbiased eye," Davis said. "Max's volume and body work was on display. He was busier. He was getting off and he was mobile, so he was able to get off his shots and then move. It kind of felt like we were almost chasing him a little bit and not able to get off when he was in position to punch."
Although everyone on Poirier's team would've like to see him win the retirement fight, the result was somewhat inconsequential when "The Diamond" put down the gloves and was celebrated for his career.
Davis has been there for much of the journey, with Poirier's knockout of Conor McGregor at UFC 257 in January 2021 being a distinct moment. Their personal relationship will go on, but Davis admits the process leading up to his farewell bout and the subsequent aftermath has led to much emotional turbulence.
"Leading up this fight it's been bittersweet," Davis said. "We know he's had a monumental career and it's coming to an end, but he deserves to see what's on the other side of it. He's been at this for a very long time. It's bittersweet, but I'm happy."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dustin Poirier's boxing coach pinpoints errors in UFC retirement loss
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Westchester softball team advances to Little League World Series
The softball team from Westchester Del Rey Little League won the West Regional in San Bernardino on Friday, beating Tucson 12-2 in a five-inning mercy rule to advance to the Little League World Series in Greenville, N.C. Pitcher Gabriela Uribe started the game with three scoreless innings and ended up finishing. After an early 2-2 tie, Westchester broke the game open. Westchester's pitching has been very good behind Uribe and Kaylee Braunlich. Paul Vogler is the team's coach. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
10 minutes ago
- CBS News
Kurtz becomes first MLB rookie with 4-homer game as A's beat Astros 15-3
Nick Kurtz became the first major league rookie to hit four homers in a game, leading the Athletics to a 15-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night. Kurtz went 6-for-6 with eight RBIs and six runs scored. He's just the second player in Major League Baseball history to have four homers in a six-hit game, joining Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002, at Milwaukee, and he matched Green's MLB record with 19 total bases. It was the first six-hit game for the Athletics since Joe DeMaestri on July 8, 1955, at Detroit. The 22-year-old also had a single and a double that hit just below the yellow line over the visitor's bullpen in the fourth inning. Kurtz singled in the first and his two-run homer in the second put the Athletics ahead 5-0. His solo shot in the sixth made it 10-2. His third homer was his longest, a 414-foot drive into the second deck in the eighth. Kurtz's final homer came against outfielder Cooper Hummel, a three-run, opposite-field line drive to the Crawford boxes in left field that made it 15-2. Kurtz extended his hitting streak to 12 game,s and his 23 home runs are the most for an A's rookie since Yoenis Céspedes in 2012 and fourth most in franchise history. Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers also homered for the A's, who had a season high in runs. Jeffrey Springs (9-7) allowed two runs over six innings. Zack Short hit a two-run homer for Houston in the fifth. Ryan Gusto (6-4) allowed eight runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings. Hummel had allowed one run and retired two batters in the ninth when Kurtz hit a 77 mph, 2-0 pitch for his fourth homer. Kurtz is batting .553 (26 for 47) with nine homers and 20 RBIs during his 12-game hitting streak. Houston RHP Hunter Brown (9-4 2.57 ERA) opposes LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6 4.60 ERA) when the series continues Saturday.
CBS News
10 minutes ago
- CBS News
Lindor homers, leading Mets past Giants 8-1 for fifth straight win
Francisco Lindor homered in the third, Brandon Nimmo added a two-run single in the fourth and Juan Soto drove in two runs as New York backed Clay Holmes, and the Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 8-1 on Friday night for their fifth straight win. Holmes (9-5) surrendered one run and six hits over five innings with two strikeouts and a walk for his first win in five starts since beating Atlanta on June 25. New York got on the board in a hurry against All-Star Logan Webb (9-8). Nimmo doubled leading off the game and scored on Soto's RBI groundout, while Lindor singled after Nimmo and Pete Alonso drove him home on a sacrifice fly. Soto added an RBI single in the ninth. Webb has had back-to-back rough outings. He was tagged for a career-high tying 11 hits over six innings of a 6-3 loss at Toronto on Saturday, then gave up six runs and eight hits in four innings Friday. The Giants' lone run came on a groundout by Willy Adames in the first. New York kicked off a stretch of nine consecutive games against the NL West by extending its streak that has come on the heels of a three-game skid. The Mets are seeking their first series win in San Francisco since 2018. The Giants placed right-handed starter Landen Roupp on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his pitching elbow, recalling righty Tristan Beck from Triple-A Sacramento. Beck relieved Webb to begin the fifth. With Adames at second with a two-out double in the third, Matt Chapman was originally ruled safe at first on a throwing error by third baseman Ronny Mauricio. But the Mets challenged the tag call and Chapman was ruled out on replay review to end the inning. Lindor wound up 3 for 5 with his 20th home run, a double and three runs scored with a pair of strikeouts after snapping his 0-for-31 drought Wednesday against the Angels. LHP David Peterson (6-4, 2.90 ERA) pitches Saturday night's middle game for the Mets opposite Giants LHP Robbie Ray (9-4, 2.92) as he tries again for double-digit victories with a three-start winless stretch.
