Max Holloway Set to Make History With Win at UFC 236

The first time Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway sparred in the Octagon, Poirier came out the victor, submitting Holloway in the first round at UFC 143.

Seven years later, the two will meet in the main event at UFC 236 Saturday to battle for the interim lightweight title at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Holloway, the favorite at -215, is fighting for a piece of history. If he can take down Poirier on Saturday, he will become the third UFC fighter to hold titles in multiple weight classes at the same time. At UFC 206 Holloway took the interim featherweight belt with a TKO win over Anthony Pettis. He unified the title when he knocked out Jose Aldo at UFC 212 and defended those titles with two more TKOs against Aldo at UFC 218 and Brian Ortega at UFC 231.

With a 20-3 record, the 27-year-old Hawaiian has turned into one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He went 3-3 at the start of his UFC career but has since won 13 straight. Should he triumph April 13, it will set up a superfight against the 27-0 Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Before that can happen Holloway must face the man who handed him the first loss of his career. Thirty-year-old Poirier (+170) has won eight of his last nine fights and earned the title shot Saturday after defeating former UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis in his last three. His previous two victories came via TKO, while he's knocked out his opponent in 12 of his 24 wins. This will be Poirier’s first title shot, which comes after 22 fights in his UFC tenure.

The final bout of the night will provide a ton of entertainment with plenty on the line for both men. One is looking to prove his win in 2012 was no fluke. The other is hoping to take one step closer toward making his case as one of the greatest fighters of all time.

As for the rest of the Saturday night card, another interim title is up for grabs, as undefeated Israel Adesanya (-185) dukes it out with 15-3 Kelvin Gastelum (+150) at middleweight. The main card also features Eryk Anders (-195) vs. Khalil Rountree (+160) in the light heavyweight division, Alan Jouban (-115) vs. Dwight Grant (-105) at welterweight and Ovince Saint Preux (-105) vs. Nikita Krylov (-115) at light heavyweight.

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