With the highly anticipated UFC 329 main event between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway fast approaching, former UFC stars Dustin Poirier, Chris Weidman and Jorge Masvidal weighed in on one of the fight's most intriguing hypothetical scenarios.
Speaking on UFC on Paramount's Deep Waters podcast the trio discussed whether McGregor would be willing to engage if Holloway unleashes his trademark "point down" gesture during the closing seconds of the fight at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The move became one of the most iconic moments in recent MMA history when Holloway pointed to the canvas and invited Justin Gaethje to trade punches in the final seconds of their 2024 BMF title fight, scoring a dramatic knockout. Holloway later attempted a similar exchange against Poirier in what proved to be the Louisiana native's final UFC appearance.
Weidman questioned whether fans would even get the chance to see such a moment against McGregor.
"Does Conor stand in the pocket with Max if it gets to the end of the fight and Max points down?" Weidman asked. "Well, I think we're all basically saying that we don't think it's going to go to the five rounds. Like, what's the chance of this actually going five rounds?"
Poirier believes that if the fight somehow reaches the championship rounds, Holloway's conditioning could become a major factor.
"If it does go all five and there's a point down in the last 10 seconds, I don't think Conor's going to be in physical shape to throw down with Max like that," Poirier said. "Because Max is still fast at the end of the fight, man."
Reflecting on his own experience with Holloway's late-fight challenge, Poirier admitted that survival instinct ultimately took over.
"Bro, I don't clinch people, especially the last 10 seconds of my retirement fight," Poirier said. "I was like, dude, I'm not getting slept or getting hurt here in the last 10 seconds…I clinched him!"
Weidman pointed out that Holloway's willingness to engage in chaos should not be mistaken for recklessness.
"He knows what he's doing in there, too," Weidman said. "It's not just like a sloppy mess. He is technical in that chaos."
Poirier then elaborated on the unusual circumstances that led him to tie Holloway up rather than exchange punches.
"I was clinching bro. Yeah, I was clinching," Poirier said. "I would have never thought like leading up to that fight, the last 10 seconds of my career, me clinching waiting for the bell…like, come on, bro, Lil Wayne is in the front row. I'm clinching in front of Wayne."
Masvidal echoed the praise for Holloway's relentless pace, highlighting the former featherweight champion's ability to accelerate as fights progress.
"He's got a turbo, like none other, like round four and five," Masvidal said. "That's why I'm such a big Max fan. I think Conor's so limited in this fight because, after like a certain moment, Max is like warming (up) the cage and the volume just goes up instead of dropping off. It's like he threw 50 punches the first round, 50 punches the second round, then he just turns that shit up, man."
Poirier agreed, insisting that Holloway's famous final-second invitations are genuine opportunities rather than crowd-pleasing theatrics.
"Yeah, and it's not for show. That point down, that 10-second thing," Poirier said. "Like, Max is really cut from that cloth. He's gonna give you the opportunity if you can land a shot on him. He's gonna open up, throw crazy. It's real."
