Dustin Poirier Interim Lightweight Champ After Beating Max Holloway Via Decision

Dustin Poirier had to wait a long time for a title shot, but he made good on the opportunity with a unanimous-decision win over Max Holloway to close out UFC 236 in Atlanta on Saturday.

Poirier claimed the win in a bloody, intense five-round battle that offered fans the second memorable fight in a row on the night. The scoring will likely be debated, but what will not be questioned is the awesomeness of the fight itself. 

Poirier proved a formidable foe early in the fight, landing a left hand that shook the featherweight titleholder in early exchanges:

The Diamond carried that early momentum into a dominant first round piecing up Holloway with combinations that landed to the body, head and legs. However, Holloway showcased the chin and toughness that have made him notoriously difficult to put away:

The second frame saw Holloway have much better defense, throughout the round, but Poirier was still able to hurt him with a more reserved offensive gameplan. Poirier likely stole the round with some power shots and had much more success against Holloway than most:

As is usually the case with the Hawaiian's fights, the third round is where Holloway started to show signs of life. He ended the round with success against a slowing Poirier and set the stage for successful championship rounds:

Poirier continued to put pressure on Holloway, but overall it was the first round that could be scored for Blessed. 

The fourth round was one of the most intriguing to score. Holloway controlled the vast majority of it, but Poirier landed a vicious knee that caused major bleeding and made the case that he should have won the round:

In the end, the scoring wasn't controversial at all to the judges. They all saw it in favor of the new interim champion. 

The win marks the first time Poirier has fought for a title, despite this being his 22nd fight with the organization. Turns out, it was worth the wait.

The win also gives Poirier a second career victory over one of the top featherweights of all time. Poirier scored a first-round submission victory over the Hawaiian in 2012 when both were just starting their illustrious UFC careers.

Now Poirier gets to look forward to unifying his belt with lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian is serving a suspension for his role in the post-fight mayhem after his rivalry bout with Conor McGregor, but UFC President Dana White told TMZ Sports the organization was planning to book a fight between the winner of the Holloway-Poirier fight and Nurmagomedov in September.

In a sport where it seems that everyone is looking to hype up their next fight, Poirier only spoke of the belt he won Saturday.

"This is a world championship," Poirier said of the interim title, per Damon Martin of MMA Weekly. "This is a piece of the world championship and then it needs to be unified but I don't even think about that. I'm just happy for the opportunity to touch gold in this fight, for whatever it's worth."

With a win over Holloway, a bout against Nurmagomedov just got interesting. When Nurmagomedov is allowed to come back to the cage, fans are going to be treated to an intriguing title unifier.