UFC 318: Dustin Poirier suffers defeat to Max Holloway on farewell fight in New Orleans
Dustin Poirier loses final fight in octagon at UFC 318; Max Holloway avenges 2012 and 2019 defeats to Poirier as curtain falls on the career of the fighter with two victories over Conor McGregor on his resume
Sunday 20 July 2025 08:38, UK
Max Holloway retained the UFC BMF Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 on Saturday in New Orleans.
Holloway (28-8) outstruck Poirier, landing 201 strikes to his opponent's 109, and connecting with 53 per cent of his significant strikes to avenge his 2012 and 2019 defeats.
The fight was the last of Poirier's career in the octagon as the American brought the curtain down on his career with a record of 30-10.
In his native Louisiana in front of a partisan crowd, Poirier was knocked down twice in the opening two rounds and struggled to match Holloway's pace.
His best moment came late in the second round when he secured a chokehold and landed several ground strikes, but Holloway escaped before the round ended.
Former interim lightweight champion Poirier bows out of the UFC with two notable wins over Conor McGregor, as well as victories over Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler.
In the co-main event, middleweight Paulo Costa (15-4) snapped a three-fight losing streak with victory over Roman Kopylov via unanimous decision.
Daniel Rodriguez (20-5) pulled off a major upset in the welterweight division, defeating Kevin Holland (28-14) by unanimous decision.
Rodriguez entered the bout as 17/4 underdog and earned his third consecutive win.
In featherweight competition, Patricio Freire (37-8) defeated Dan Ige by unanimous decision, scoring five takedowns across three rounds.
The main card produced with another upset, as 19/4 underdog Michael Johnson (25-19) landed 81 strikes to beat lightweight rival Daniel Zellhuber for his third straight victory.
