Not many, if any, fighters get the farewell party Dustin Poirier did Saturday in New Orleans.
While the storybook ending didn’t take place at UFC 318, Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) retired at Smoothie King Center with his head held high. After his “BMF title defeat by unanimous decision to Max Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23- 8 UFC), Poirier signed off in front of his home state crowd.”
“I feel loved by the fans, Louisiana, and the company,” Poirier said in the cage, before an emotional tribute video played for him. “I didn’t know I’d touch as many people as I did just by chasing my dreams.”
The scorecards were 48-47, 49-46, and 49-46.
Poirier overcame being dropped by a Holloway right early. The moment audibly sucked the energy out of an arena that was riled up by Poirier’s grand introduction – one that included the presence of Louisiana-bred rap legend Lil Wayne.
A shot of adrenalin would inject back into the arena in Round 2, however. After Poirier sustained another knockdown, he turned the tables on Holloway and put him on the canvas with a blow of his own. In true Poirier fashion, he hopped the guillotine. Holloway rolled and escaped, however.
Round 3 was a strong showing for Holloway, as the two fighters continued to get the other’s timing down. Round 4 was closely contested, as was five. Over the course of 25 minutes, the dance never really paused. Both men went tit-for-tat, in a controlled yet nerve-racking way. In the final seconds, Poirier accepted Holloway’s signature challenge to stand and bang, though the Hawaiian appeared to get the best of the exchange.
Poirier, 36, retires as one of the most violent, exciting and popular fighters in UFC history and he will likely find himself in the promotion’s Hall of Fame. He won the interim UFC lightweight title in 2019. Outside of the cage, his charitable contributions to his community and beyond earned him the first-ever Forrest Griffin Community Award from the UFC.
Holloway retains his “BMF” title and bounces back from a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria. He moves to 4-1 in his most recent five fights. The bout avenges two prior losses to Poirier.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 318 results include:
- Max Holloway def. Dustin Poirier via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
- Paulo Costa def. Roman Kopylov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Patricio Freire def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Michael Johnson def. Daniel Zellhuber via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Vinicius Oliveira def. Kyler Phillips via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Brendan Allen def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Nikolay Veretennikov def. Francisco Prado via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ateba Gautier def. Robert Valentin via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:10
- Islam Dulatov def. Adam Fugitt via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:06
- Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:42
- Ryan Spann def. Lukasz Brzeski via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:47
- Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:35
- Carli Judice def. Nicolle Caliari via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 3, 1:30
