Dustin Poirier has taken fans along for the ride for years and it all comes to a head tonight.
UFC 318 marks the final fight for Poirier, 36, one of the most popular fighters of the modern era. Sending him off is fellow legend Max Holloway, who gets a third chance to do something he’s never done: get a win over Poirier. Holloway’s “BMF” title is up for grabs, but that’s a side note to the heart of the main event storyline.
Simply put, we’ve watched Poirier grow up in front of our very eyes (the same can be said of Holloway, but that’s a tale for another time). He was 21 years old when he debuted with World Extreme Cagefighting and two fights later he made his first walk to the octagon when WEC was officially folded into UFC. “The Diamond” is as appropriate a nickname as there is because he was clearly a mega talent in the rough waiting to have his moment to shine.
And shine he has for almost 15 years, knocking off star after star, falling down on more than one occasion, and getting back up to keep chasing that impossible dream of an undisputed UFC championship. His interim title win at UFC 236 (following a classic fight with Holloway, naturally) was a magical moment, his subsequent unification bout loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov was heartbreaking, and his back-to-back wins over Conor McGregor were deeply satisfying. Amazingly, those highlights only scratch the surface of a career that also includes all-time great battles with “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, Jim Miller, and Islam Makhachev, the latter in a losing effort that still stood as a testament to Poirier’s resilience.
Even with Poirier saying all the right things about retirement, it’s hard to believe we won’t ever again hear the slick sound of James Brown’s The Boss pumping through arena speakers as Poirier makes his entrance. It just felt like he’d always be around to deliver unforgettable fight night moments.
Let’s not take this one for granted.
What: UFC 318
Where: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans
When: Saturday, July 19. The five-fight early preliminary card begins at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN+, and Disney+, followed by a four-fight preliminary card airing on ESPN, ESPN+ and Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET. The five-fight main card begins at 10 p.m. ET exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings and Pound-for-Pound Rankings)
Max Holloway (4, P4P-12) vs. Dustin Poirier (7)
My reason for picking Max Holloway is thus: It has to be crazy difficult to beat this guy three times.
Yes, Alexander Volkanovski has done it, and twice convincingly. And there’s been zero controversy when it comes to Dustin Poirier’s previous wins over “Blessed,” even in their five-round rematch in which both men had their moments.
But Poirier is on a farewell tour this time, not looking to climb his way up the ranks or bring home gold. It’s fair to question whether he has the proper motivation to beat Holloway one more time, especially a version of Holloway that is still in the thick of the current lightweight title picture. When a whole week has been dedicated to celebrating your past accomplishments, can you ground yourself in the present and knuckle down one more time?
Holloway has made technical adjustments, too, adding a more expansive kicking repertoire that was crucial to defusing Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. That aspect of his game wasn’t present in his past two encounters with Poirier and if he finds that perfect striking balance again, he’ll have the edge. And you know he’ll be fired up to finally get one over on Poirier.
The MMA Gods have a funny way of saying goodbye and while we’d all love to see Poirier put on another unforgettable performance that dips into the championship rounds, I have Holloway catching him in Round 2 and shutting Poirier’s lights out in front of his fellow Louisianians.
Sorry.
Pick: Holloway
Paulo Costa (14) vs. Roman Kopylov
It’s always a good time to remind people Paulo Costa hasn’t scored a KO/TKO victory in seven years.
True, much of this has to do with Costa’s inactivity (as I type this, I am dreading the fight falling through with bell time so, so far away), but he’s fought six times since his last finish and outside of a bright spot against Robert Whittaker, he hasn’t really come close to showing the punching power that propelled him to top contender status. Instead, he’s become more of a punchline.
All the online lolz won’t save him when he comes up against Roman Kopylov, a dangerous striker who had a distinctly different rise up the ranks than Costa. Kopylov struggled through his first two contests, but found his finishing touch against Alessio Di Chirico and hasn’t looked back. He’s won six of his past seven fights, five by knockout.
Kopylov isn’t a fast starter, so Costa has to jump on him early. I haven’t seen that killer instinct from Costa, though, so I’m more inclined to believe he makes the mistake of letting Kopylov set the tone with the hopes of finding that perfect shot later in the fight. It won’t come and Kopylov will cruise to a decision win, one that will seal Costa’s UFC fate.
Pick: Kopylov
Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez
The year of Kevin Holland is upon us!
Saturday marks Holland’s fourth UFC appearance of 2025 and we still have five months left in the year. After losing an ill-conceived middleweight matchup with Reinier de Ridder in January, Holland returned to the 170-pound division to rattle off two straight wins and find himself in a favorable matchup with Daniel Rodriguez.
“D-Rod” is a tricky test for anyone, especially in a standup battle, but Holland’s size and speed are always assets when he competes at welterweight. Don’t let his laissez-faire attitude fool you; Holland is always improving and losses to the likes of Jack Della Maddalena, Stephen Thompson, and Michael Page, have made him better in the long run.
Rodriguez can hang with Holland for three rounds without getting his lights put out, but I have the quicker Holland outworking him and earning a win on points.
Pick: Holland
Dan Ige (14) vs. Patricio Pitbull (12)
I can’t quit Patricio Pitbull.
Even before a disappointing and deflating UFC debut against Yair Rodriguez, there were signs the 38-year-old Pitbull was on the decline. A shocking knockout loss to Chihiro Suzuki. A one-off bantamweight championship bout against Sergio Pettis that Pitbull was never really in. Then you add in the mileage from 21 years of competition and it’s clear he’s lost a step or two (or three, or four, or five…).
Dan Ige is a spot-on booking for him right now. The quintessential gatekeeper, there was a time where it’s Ige who would have had something to prove by beating Pitbull, but now it’s the former Bellator star that needs to show he can still hang with high-level UFC competition. Ige’s sharp boxing and overlooked ground game could make this another rough night for Pitbull.
But. I still believe. Pitbull hits hard, man, and while I think Ige has done a better job of not losing fights by getting out-slugged, the potential is still there for him to catch one on the chin and lose a round he was otherwise winning. That’s the path to victory here for Pitbull, though he also has to show more aggression and manufacture openings rather than waiting for one.
Pitbull by decision. If he loses again, this is the last time I pick him, pinky swear.
Pick: Pitbull
Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber
When Michael Johnson made his UFC debut in 2010, Daniel Zellhuber was 11. Chew on that for a moment.
OK, now that I’ve made you feel old as dirt, let’s look at this matchup.
Johnson is a survivor. We love to go on about his eye-popping wins (Dustin Poirier! Tony Ferguson! Edson Barboza!), but grinding out victories in one of the tougher divisions in his late 30s is also worth appreciating. It’s not always pretty, but Johnson hits 31 UFC appearances tonight, and 27 at lightweight, trailing only Clay Guida (31) and Jim Miller (43). He’s seen some shit.
Zellhuber has a fair share of experience, but in the grand scheme of things, he’s really just beginning his journey. He’s already established himself as one of the most exciting young fighters on the roster, with strong striking and great physical tools, and if you sprinkle in some more in-cage IQ, you have yourself someone who could be competing for a UFC title by 2027 (patience…).
I like Johnson to keep this one competitive through a round before Zellhuber locks in and hurts him in the second. Then he’ll pounce and use those long limbs to snag a submission.
Pick: Zellhuber
Preliminaries
Vinicius Oliveira def. Kyler Phillips
Brendan Allen (12) def. Marvin Vettori
Francisco Prado def. Nikolay Veretennikov
Ateba Gautier def. Robert Valentin
Islam Dulatov def. Adam Fugitt
Marcin Prachnio def. Jimmy Crute
Lukasz Brzeski def. Ryan Spann