‘He’s Gonna Break His Arm!’ – When Dustin Poirier Had Joe Rogan Concerned for a 20-Year-Old Max Holloway

Dustin Poirier once had Joe Rogan worried about a 20-year-old Max Holloway. Rogan, calling the action when the two first fought, warned that Poirier was close to breaking Holloway’s arm.

At UFC 143 on Feb. 4, 2012, then-UFC newcomer Holloway faced rising featherweight Poirier. It was Poirier’s fourth UFC fight, while Holloway, just 20 years old, was making his debut. Poirier was 23 at the time.

Both fighters showed off slick footwork and sharp striking early in the fight. But Poirier kept pressing for the takedown and eventually got Holloway to the ground. Once there, he moved into full mount and landed some solid ground-and-pound.

The strikes seemed to break Holloway’s defense and open up submission opportunities for Poirier. “The Diamond” soon secured an armbar, from which he later transitioned to a triangle. He then managed to get a mounted triangle position and chose to attack with an armbar simultaneously.

During the grappling sequences, Joe Rogan notably stated, “The right arm of Max Holloway is in jeopardy. And Poirier is scooping his hips up towards it. Holloway is getting up against the cage, though, now. I suspect he may try to hip-escape. He’s trying to do that, and that’s why he’s taking a pounding.”

Rogan pointed out the small changes both guys made to improve their positions in the scramble.

Rogan continued, “Now he’s going to use the cage and push, try to scoot out of the back door. But he’s going to give up that arm, that arm that I was talking about earlier. Yeah. He’s got it. That’s it … He needs to get that right leg across that face. [Poirier] turns it into a triangle … The issue there, [UFC play-by-play commentator] Mike [Goldberg], was that his right leg was across the back of the head instead of the front. Now, he’s got it.”

As Poirier extended the arm, Rogan shouted, “Mounted, triangle, armbar at the same time. He’s gonna break his arm!”

Holloway tapped out, and referee Steve Mazzagatti separated the two fighters. Poirier thereby emerged victorious via submission courtesy of a mounted triangle armbar. Moreover, Rogan lauded Poirier’s spectacular stoppage win, labeling it “brilliant.”

That first fight kicked off big careers for both men. They met again years later at UFC 236 in April 2019. This time it was at lightweight, with the interim UFC lightweight title on the line. Poirier won the rematch by unanimous decision after five hard rounds.

Now, the two are set to fight for a third time. Former interim lightweight champ Poirier will face former featherweight champ and current BMF titleholder Holloway in a trilogy bout at UFC 318 on July 19, 2025. It’ll be at lightweight, with the BMF belt up for grabs—and it will be Poirier’s final MMA fight.