Max Holloway fell short at UFC 236, but it is almost certain that he didn’t lose anyone’s respect.

Last Saturday night (April 13), UFC featherweight champion Holloway moved up in weight to take on Dustin Poirier for the interim UFC lightweight title. The winner would put themselves in prime position to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed UFC lightweight gold. Holloway fought hard, but Poirier’s pressure and harder shots led to a unanimous decision in favor of “The Diamond.” The bout shared “Fight of the Night” honors with Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum.

Holloway fought Poirier back in Feb. 2012 and was submitted. This fight was far different, but the winner remained true. “Blessed” took to his Twitter account to give props to “The Diamond:”

“Life is chutes and ladders. Sometimes we gotta take that slide down to get to the next big ladder. It is what it is. We keep playing. We keep fighting. Congrats to Dustin and Jolie. They should’ve already had a belt. Diamonds are forever.”

This is Holloway’s first loss since Aug. 2013 when he fought Conor McGregor. “Blessed” was on a 13-fight winning streak.