NEW ORLEANS, La. (KLFY) -- All eyes were on Smoothie King Center this weekend as Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier looked to cap off his UFC career as the BMF champion.

In the first round, Poirier seemed in a bit of trouble against his opponent, Max Holloway, but in the second round, Poirier came back with a furious rally, almost ending the fight with a guillotine. The battle would go the distance, and once the judges' scorecards were turned in, Holloway remained the BMF champion.

"I felt like, well, going into the fifth, I thought it was close," said Poirier. "I thought I might have been 2-2. So, winning the fifth, I could have put myself in harm's way a little bit more. Maybe I would have got finished, maybe I would've finished him. You know, I could have took more chances in the fifth. But up until that point, I was playing it, I was trying to fight like a professional, be smart. It seemed like he was waiting to counter me with his right hand every time I would come in. But the crazy thing is, he never threw it. But felt like his footwork and his movement was ready to throw that right hand. So, I didn't want to take too many risks getting countered. I don't want to miss and get countered. And he had already hurt me in the second round. So, I mean, I fought, I fought, and I thought I was doing well. You know, I thought it was close rounds every time. So, looking back, hindsight's always 20/20. But I thought I fought smart, and yeah, I tried to win, man. I really did."

Smoothie King Center was jam-packed and loud throughout the night, but nothing compared to when Poirier stepped inside the octagon. Poirier says it was so loud that he could barely hear at different points throughout the fight.

"I didn't hear the second round (bell). I didn't hear the bell at all. Zero. I think my coach said I was still throwing elbows and punches, and the door was already open. They were coming in the cage. I couldn't hear anything. No, it was crazy. It was crazy in there. Even before Max walked out, when I was still finishing my walk-in, it was like deafening," he said. "I couldn't hear my coaches talking to me, you know, and they were standing right there on the cage or in front of me. It's amazing; I love the support."

Holloway made a brief statement with Daniel Cormier after picking up the win before giving the floor to Dustin Poirier to thank fans around the world. The UFC played a touching video package that recapped his entire run with the promotion. UFC CEO Dana White was blown away by the reception Poirier received Saturday night.

"You know, we celebrated Dustin, you know, on the broadcast. And then to have the fight here in front of us, you know, his people," said Holloway. "And they showed up, and they, you know, they made the event really fun tonight. My girl Amber was saying to me, I was already in the back room. She said, 'Not one person has left this arena when he was still out there talking.' That's pretty special. I mean, you guys know you've done enough fights. Before Rogan even gets up into the octagon, half the place is gone. So the fact that they all stayed for him tonight, showed up for him tonight, broke the arena record tonight. The list goes on and on."

Poirier would leave the octagon for the final time with the flag of Acadiana draped on his back, representing the community where the diamond shined the brightest.

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