If the video game simulation of Max Holloway vs Dustin Poirier is anything to go by, fans are in for an all-time classic.
The big-swinging duo will collide for a third time in the main event of UFC 318 in New Orleans on Sunday.
But the contest is far more than just a trilogy fight.
Not only is Holloway’s BMF title on the line – which he won via a sickening KO of Justin Gaethje – it will also be the final time Poirier steps into the Octagon.
The Louisiana native was afforded the chance to retire in his home state by UFC president Dana White, who described Poirier as an ‘all-time great’.
Given Holloway and Poirier’s willingness to stand and trade, the pair are serious fan favourites and are rarely, if ever, in a boring fight.
That trend appears set to continue according to a simulation of the bout, as a YouTube user pitted Holloway and Poirier against one another on the UFC 5 video game.
Neither man was in the mood to wait when it came to throwing punches, as both traded massive blows from the get-go.
It was Poirier who landed the first telling shot though, as he rocked Holloway with a head kick midway through the first round.
The kick drew blood from Holloway and set the tone for what was to come.
Poirier continued to pour on the strikes that landed cleanly on Holloway.
But, as ‘Blessed’ has shown throughout his career, it will take more than a few clean combos to slow him down.
Holloway landed a head kick of his own with 40 seconds that left Poirier on unsteady legs and busted open.
However, Poirier recorded the final key blow of the first round, knocking Holloway down to the canvas with 20 seconds remaining.
The remarkable pace and punishment continued in the second round as Holloway and Poirier’s blood splattered the canvas.
But it was the third round when the action reached a crescendo.
Just over a minute into the third stanza, Poirier dropped Holloway once more and went for the kill.
It marked the first time the fight had gone to the ground, but Holloway would survive Poirier’s onslaught as the scrap returned to the feet.
Holloway would be sent to the canvas once more via a monster overhand left from Poirier with two minutes remaining, yet he still could not be put away.
But with 50 seconds to go, the telling blow was landed.
A bruised and battered Holloway threw a right uppercut that Poirier easily dodged.
‘The Diamond’ landed a sledgehammer of a counter left on Holloway’s chin that rendered the Hawaiian native unconscious.
A finish of a similar nature would be the dream way for Poirier to sign off on his time in the octagon.
But Holloway is not and never will be the type to roll over and allow Poirier’s farewell to go to plan.
No matter who gets their hand raised on Sunday, it promises to be a bloody and violent war befitting of the BMF title.