There’s some great choices for knockout of the year in 2024, and Dustin Poirier seemed adamant when he picked his favorite one this week, only to then quickly change his mind when he was reminded of one particularly awe-inspiring finish.
“For me personally, it’s got to be Topuria knocking out Max,” Poirier initially said on Daniel Cormeir and Chael Sonnen’s ESPN show, ‘Good Guy/ Bad Guy’. “Max is a legend, multiple-time world champion, one of the best guys to ever do it, and Topuria was the first man to put him on his ass and knock him out. That was super impressive for me.”
Poirier went on to explain that having fought Holloway himself, he knows only too well how good he is, and that made Topuria’s finish even more impactful in his eyes.
“Just how elusive he is in there but also the guys he fought, he’s never been put down,” Poirier explained regarding Holloway’s impressive resume. “Going in there toe-to-toe with Gaethje, I mean the list goes on with me, with Conor (McGregor), with a bunch of guys.
“Taking big shots and always answering the bell, always getting back up, always showing up to the next round. Never really seen him rocked or stumble that much. And to get put down for the first time after 30-plus UFC fights is, to me, Knockout of the Year.”
However, after being reminded just how special Holloway’s last-gasp KO of Justin Gaethje was earlier in the year, Poirier suddenly had a change of heart.
“Going back to Knockout of the Year, can I switch my pick? Just now you talking about it, it brought me back.
“I was doing a viewing party in Connecticut, and it brought me back to that moment, and I got to say, I was more in awe that night than I was working ESPN with Chael, and Ilia did it. When Ilia did it, I was surprised. When Max did it, I was kind of in awe, blown away at the way he fell. Just everything combined just made it so special.”
