UFC 318 goes down on Saturday from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. In the main event, Louisiana legend Dustin Poirier will take a second crack at the symbolic BMF title when he faces Max Holloway.
Poirier has twice defeated Holloway in their careers, but Poirier is the underdog heading into the rematch. Poirier also came up short in his first bid for the BMF title when he was knocked out by Justin Gaethje. Gaethje would go on to lose the BMF belt to Holloway at UFC 300, with the Hawaiian scoring a now-iconic last-second knockout after daring Gaethje to stand and trade with him.
There is more to the card than just Poirier vs. Holloway, but how much more? And what are the big storylines heading into the next UFC pay-per-view effort?
Let’s take a look.
1. Poirier’s last ride comes against a familiar foe
UFC 318 will be Poirier’s last walk to the Octagon, and he’ll make that walk to face an old rival in the form of Holloway. Poirier has had an incredible career and has become one of the UFC’s biggest stars due to a combination of his personality and exciting fighting style. Poirier has never captured a true championship in the UFC, though he did hold the interim lightweight title in 2019. Interestingly, Holloway was the man Poirier defeated to win that interim title at UFC 236. It was the second meeting between Poirier and Holloway, with Poirier also winning their UFC 143 fight at featherweight. Despite having gotten the better of Holloway twice, Poirier currently sits as a slight underdog at +120. While this fight won’t give Poirier the opportunity to walk away with a UFC championship, the BMF title will be on the line, giving Poirier a chance to walk away with a symbolic title that represents how fans will remember him more than any world title could have.
2. Can Holloway make one last run at UFC gold?
Holloway’s resume is littered with accomplishments. From a fantastic run as featherweight champion, to legendary fights, to a host of wins over Hall of Fame-level talent, there isn’t much Holloway hasn’t done. Holloway has only lost to the best of the best in his career — with the exception of a 2013 loss to the good, not great, Dennis Bermudez. Unfortunately for Holloway, Poirier is one of those greats who has had his number. If Holloway wants to make another run at capturing a “real” title, rather than the symbolic BMF belt he currently holds, he can’t afford to slip in this trilogy fight. Holloway is only 33 years old, but 34 professional fights against elite competition can put a lot of miles on a fighter’s body. Holloway is also in a tricky spot as a title contender. Ilia Topuria knocked Holloway out in Holloway’s last outing, a bid for the featherweight title. Topuria now holds the lightweight title, which means there is little chance of Holloway getting a title shot at 155 pounds in the near future. Back at featherweight, Alexander Volkanovski picked up the title Topuria vacated. Holloway has lost all three times he has faced Volkanovski, possibly leaving a featherweight title shot out of the question while Volkanovski holds the belt. All Holloway can do is win — and keep winning — to make his case at a title shot undeniable. That starts Saturday with his chance to finally get a win over Poirier in a rivalry that dates back decades.
3. Is this the end of American stars in the UFC?
Poirier and Holloway are two of the most beloved fighters in UFC history. If the trend of the sport continues as it is, they are also among the final wave of current American stars for the promotion. Global expansion has been great for the UFC and has brought a diversity of styles and personalities to mixed martial arts. But Americans are fading from the top of the sport. Holloway and Belal Muhammad are the only Americans in the UFC’s official top 15 pound-for-pound rankings. Women’s bantamweight champ Kayla Harrison is the only current American champion, and fewer and fewer Americans show up in the divisional rankings. Sean O’Malley was viewed as the next big American star, but he has twice been exposed by Merab Dvalishvili. It will be interesting to see how many fighters out of the USA can follow Holloway and Poirier’s path of putting together legendary careers while also showing personalities that made them beloved figures both in and out of the Octagon.
4. The co-main event is what now?
There have been numerous discussions over the overall UFC card quality in recent years. That is glaring with UFC 318, which features a middleweight co-main event of Roman Kopylov vs. Paulo Costa. This is a battle of the fighters ranked 13 (Costa) and 14 (Kopylov) at 185 pounds. There are no title stakes at play here, especially considering that Costa has gone 1-4 in his five most recent fights. There are familiar names on the card, yes, but this isn’t the kind of deep card that screams for your hard-earned money beyond wanting to see what happens when Poirier and Holloway clash for their final time.
5. Can Patricio Pitbull shed the Bellator curse?
Pitbull and Patchy Mix were two high-profile Bellator fighters who finally made their way to the UFC. Pitbull dropped a decision to Yair Rodriguez in April. Things were much worse for Mix, who looked flat and unprepared in losing a decision to Mario Bautista in June. Both Mix and Pitbull are good fighters — though Pitbull is far closer to the end of his career than Mix — but they did little to shed the narrative espoused by many that Bellator contained inferior fighters compared to the UFC roster. On Saturday, Pitbull has a chance to start to shift that conversation when he faces Dan Ige. It’s another tough assignment for Pitbull, but he’s had the answers to these types of opponents in the past. It may be unfair, but a lot of the Bellator narrative will be determined by what Pitbull does against Ige.
