UFC 318 is in the books, and so is the career of Dustin Poirier. “The Diamond” is done as an MMA fighter after an illustrious run in UFC that saw him among the elites at lightweight for the last five-plus years. Poirier couldn’t quite cap off the final moment with a win, however, because former featherweight champion Max Holloway proved to be just too much to handle.
Poirier and Holloway authored another epic chapter in their friendly rivalry as the two met for the third time in New Orleans on Saturday. Holloway dropped Poirier twice early, but Poirier did manage to rebound and give himself some life. But in the end, the Hawaiian was able to weather the storm and hostile crowd to walk away victorious as Poirier laid down his gloves for the final time.
Elsewhere on the card, Paulo Costa put a jolt into his career with an emphatic decision win over rising contender Roman Kopylov. Costa, who entered the fight just 1-4 since 2020, dropped Kopylov early and never relented on the pressure. The key win can keep him relevant in a rather shallow 185-pound division. Plus, Daniel Rodriguez scored a stunning upset of Kevin Holland after scoring a pair of knockdowns. And former Bellator MMA two-division champion Patricio Pitbull earned his first UFC win by beating Dan Ige by decision.
CBS Sports was with you throughout fight week with the latest news, in-depth features and betting advice to consider. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you at UFC 319 in Chicago.
UFC 318 fight card, results
- 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 Pitbull 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 (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ateba Gautier def. Robert Valentin via first-round TKO (punches)
- Islam Dulatov def. Adam Fugitt via first-round knockout (punches)
- Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio via first-round submission (armbar)
- Ryan Spann def. Lukasz Brzeski via first-round submission (guillotine choke)
- Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey via first-round submission (armbar)
- Carli Judice def. Nicolle Caliari via first-round TKO (strikes)
