In the main event of UFC 318, we are going to see a legend make the walk for the final time in front of his home crowd. “The Diamond” Dustin Poirier (30-9) will fight for the final time as he takes on a familiar foe in former featherweight champion and current BMF title holder Max “Blessed” Holloway (26-8).
This trilogy aligns with the careers of both men. Their first fight came at the beginning with their second fight being when both were seemingly at their peaks, and now their final bout will be the retirement fight for Dustin Poirier. So far, Poirier has won both of the matchups against Max Holloway.
Dustin Poirier wanted his retirement to be something special and that’s what UFC 318 is. The promotion created this card for him in New Orleans and he has one final chance to go out with a title and it’s a title that means a lot to him in the BMF title.
Poirier fought Justin Gaethje for it back in 2023 and lost in the second round. Poirier bounced back with a knockout over Benoit Saint-Denis which led to a UFC title shot against Islam Makhachev last June. He fell short in that one and following that title loss, Poirier said he wanted one final dance and he’s getting that with Max Holloway.
Holloway is officially done with featherweight at this stage of his career. After two big wins in 2023 to get back to being the top featherweight contender, Holloway detoured to face Justin Gaethje for the BMF title at UFC 300. Holloway had one of the greatest knockouts you’ll ever see as he knocked Gaethje out cold in the final seconds.
He dropped back to 145 to face now lightweight champion Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title. Holloway was stopped in the third round, but he’s hoping that with a win tomorrow night, he can get a rematch with Topuria at 155.
UFC 318 Prediction
I think that at this stage of his career 155 is where we are going to see the absolute best from Max Holloway and he showed that at UFC 300. Holloway really was smart about bulking up for that fight and he put on an incredible performance. When Holloway moved up back in 2019 to face Poirier for the interim lightweight title, he felt like a featherweight who just didn’t cut weight. At 300, he looked like a true lightweight.
Throughout this week when the two men have faced off, Holloway actually looks like the bigger fighter and I expect him to do much better than he did when these two fought back in 2019. The question is, will that be enough to spoil the retirement fight of Dustin Poirier?
I think it will be. Dustin Poirier is an absolute legend, but in my honest opinion, he does look like he’s stepped back a little over his last few fights. He’s still tough as hell and his boxing is still great, but the speed wasn’t quite the same and I’m not sure his cardio is going to be there for all five rounds at UFC 318.
I think Holloway is going to bring a ton of volume and he’ll carry more power than he carried in that second fight. Like the Justin Gaethje fight, I just think that Holloway is going to be a step ahead throughout the fight and I ultimately think that he’s going to finish this one to retain his BMF belt.
Prediction: Max Holloway by TKO
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