Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway certainly have respect for one another.

Poirier and Holloway clashed this past Saturday night (April 13). The two did battle for the interim UFC lightweight gold. After five rounds of bloody action, “The Diamond” was awarded the unanimous decision win and the interim 155-pound gold.

After the fight, Holloway released a statement and praised Poirier:

“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.”

It didn’t take “The Diamond” long to respond to “Blessed’s” statement. Poirier took to his Instagram account to say the following:

“Thank you for the battle [Max Holloway], you are a champion. We need more people like you in MMA.”

Poirier is now set to collide with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed UFC lightweight title. As for Holloway, UFC president Dana White has expressed his desire to see “Blessed” defend his featherweight gold.