UFC 318 Preview
The UFC is invading the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, July 19th for UFC 318. The main event will be a trilogy fight in the lightweight division for the BMF title between legends Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.
The two first fought at UFC 143 in 2012 where Poirier won by third round submission. The second fight was for the interim lightweight championship at UFC 236 where Poirier won by unanimous decision in one of the best fights of 2019. The third battle will mark Holloway’s first defense of the BMF belt and Poirier’s retirement fight.
Holloway is a former featherweight champion and will be trying to rebound from his last fight at UFC 308 where he challenged Ilia Topuria for the featherweight belt but lost by third round KO. The loss was the first time Holloway was defeated by KO in his illustrious career.
The 33-year-old won the BMF belt at UFC 300 with a fifth round KO of Justin Gaethje in what is considered one of the greatest knockouts of all-time. He now will have the chance to defend the belt, a shot at redemption, and could spoil Poirier’s swan song.
While Holloway has spent the majority of his career at featherweight, he has now officially made the move up to lightweight for good. “Oh yeah, for sure, I feel the difference,” Holloway said. “For my last fight (at featherweight), you guys could see my cheekbones way more, I kind of looked like a skeleton, so I’m just glad here. You guys see the difference. People are talking about it about how big I am, how wide I am. It just feels good. I’m a Polynesian, a Hawaiian-Polynesian. I’m glad I get to show that Polynesian, big wrist, big ankles kind of thing.”
“Just being able to focus on this camp and not even teeter tottering on the chance of, ‘Oh, we might go back down,’ we can do certain things, we can supplement in certain ways,” Holloway said. “At the end of the day, these 155-pound camps are the best. I feel good. I feel great. I get to eat a lot more during camp. There were times at 145 where I was like, ‘Oh, I want to eat’ and then I jump on the scale, and I’m like ‘Oh, sh*t. I can’t do it,’ so these 155 camps are way more enjoyable.”
With a win on Saturday, Holloway believes there are plenty of opportunities in his new division. “There's a lot of fun fights (at lightweight),” he said. “There's a new undisputed champion that we have some history with. There's a bunch of guys I have a history with here in the top five. Life's good at ‘55. I can't wait.”
How does Holloway feel about fighting Poirier for the third time? “Dustin is one of these guys that when he gets into fights, (it’s like) getting into a car wreck,” Holloway said. “That's what I'm looking forward to. That's what I know I signed up for.
“I'm looking forward to a scary Dustin Poirier, and we can go out there and do my thing.”
Is Holloway worried about how the fans will react if he spoils Poirier’s retirement fight? “People get mad, but UFC is in the entertainment business,” he said. “Yeah, we're fighters, but it's entertainment, and it's all about moments. If I have my moment, who's to say that I'm not right back out right there (in the title picture). I had my moment at (UFC) 300. (If) I have a moment here, the sky's the limit—the undisputed title or one (win) away. Whoever it is, whatever we do, you just gotta make moments here, make history. That's what I plan on doing.”
Holloway defended the featherweight belt three times and has fought the who’s who of the UFC over the last decade. Aside from Gaethje he has key victories over Chan Sung Jung, Arnold Allen, Yair Rodriguez, Calvin Kattar, Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo (twice), Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, Charles Oliveira and Cub Swanson. If he can finally find a way to defeat Poirier, it will open many opportunities for him at lightweight and the potential for “big money” defenses of the BMF belt.
Poirier’s last fight was for the lightweight championship at UFC 302 but he came up short losing by fifth round submission to Islam Makhachev. It was Poirier’s third time challenging for the lightweight crown and like the previous two battles he fought well, but could not find a way to win. A win over Holloway for the third time will be the perfect send off for Poirier in what has been a storied career.
The Louisiana native is excited about ending his career at home. “All the years, all the crazy fights I've been in, for them to entertain my idea of coming back to Louisiana. It's been over 10 years since the UFC was last here. I fought on the card. And just to say that the reason UFC is back in the great state of Louisiana is because of me, I'm proud. I'm carrying that proudly, said Poirier.
Along with Holloway, Poirier is one of the most respected fighters in the sport. Both have created legacies by being hard-working passionate fighters. How does he feel about Holloway? “I have a lot of respect for him as a man and as a fighter,” he said.
Poirier continued, “Of course, the things he's done in his career – became champion, BMF champion, undisputed champion, the legends he's beat. He's going to be in the Hall of Fame.
“To get a chance, for my last fight, to be with somebody I have a lot of respect for, a legend of the sport, is what I wanted. He wasn't my pick – I was asking for the third Gaethje fight – but when they brought (Holloway’s) name up, it just seemed right. I was his first fight in the UFC. (Now) he’s gonna be my last.”
The former interim champion is ready for a war. “Of course, I want to win. If I can go in there and win easy, I'm going to go that route. But I'm not afraid of a war with Max, similar to the last one,” he said.
“It's going to be a dogfight, and that's just the kind of fighter Max is. Also that played into me being excited to fight Max. He's not a guy who's going in there trying to secure takedowns and win rounds, or jab and circle, stay out of harm's way to win a decision.
“He's going in there to finish guys and put on a fight, and that's what I respect about guys like him. So, I want to meet that with the same energy. And we're going to throw down.”
Poirier concluded, “Putting the BMF in the trophy case, I’m a BMF forever!” he smiled.
“I walk out of that cage, get my hand raised, walk out of that cage with the BMF belt. I'm retiring the baddest MFer!”
Aside from defeating Holloway twice, Poirier has key wins in his career over Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller and Bobby Green. A a third win over Holloway and retiring the BMF champion will solidify Poirier’s place in the Hall of Fame.
The rest of the main card:
Roman Kopylov -240 vs. Paulo Costa +200, middleweights
Kevin Holland -450 vs. Daniel Rodriguez, welterweights
Dan Ige -210 vs. Patricio Pitbull +175, featherweights
Daniel Zellhuber -550 vs. Michael Johnson +400, lightweights
ESPN + Prelims:
Vinicius Oliveira -165 vs. Kyler Phillips +140, bantamweights
Brendan Allen -205 vs. Marvin Vettori +170, middleweights
Francisco Prado -140 vs. Nikolay Veretennikov +120, welterweights
Ateba Gautier -550 vs. Robert Valentin +400, middleweights
Islam Dulatov -600 vs. Adam Fugitt +430, welterweights
Jimmy Crute -280 vs. Marcin Prachnio +230, light heavyweights
Ryan Spann -220 vs. Lukasz Brzeski +180, light heavyweights
Brunno Ferreira -700 vs. Jackson McVey +500, middleweights
Carli Judice -300 vs. Nicolle Caliari +240, women's flyweights
