Max Holloway leaned into his position of spoiler to Dustin Poirier's retirement fight, and it paid off at UFC 318 with a successful defense of his BMF title. After losing the first pair of meetings in February 2012 and April 2019,

Holloway defeated Dustin Poirier in a unanimous decision to retain the UFC BMF Championship in UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center. The win for Holloway is the first in three fights against Poirier, who beat him in 2012 and 2019.

While Max Holloway may have used the opportunity to call for a BMF ranking, the title fight that he was pitched with Dan Hooker would make a lot of sense. Holloway has made it clear that he wants Ilia Topuria next but he’s also stated that it’s up to the UFC to decide what path they want to take.

Alexander Volkanovski was interested in how Max Holloway would bounce back from his first KO loss, and came away very impressed.

What is the UFC 318 fight card tonight at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on July 19, 2025? Dustin Poirier vs Max Holloway 3 PPV schedule, time and more.

Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling believes Holloway took it easy on Poirier after two early knockdowns, claiming that Holloway could’ve finished the fight if he wouldn’t’ve ‘pulled back’ on his punches. As of this writing, Holloway hasn’t responded to Sterling’s assertions.

Dana White sees Max Holloway 'in a great position' after UFC 318, and is open to a potential rematch with Ilia Topuria

Defending his BMF belt for the first time. But who will “Blessed” be facing in New Orleans? Also Read: UFC Tonight – Get everything you need to know on UFC 318 Max Holloway next fight opponent options?

Max Holloway took advantage of his last chance to beat Dustin Poirier with a unanimous decision win over The Diamond at UFC 318 in his opponent's retirement fight in New Orleans on Saturday night.

Max Holloway wants to run things back with Ilia Topuria after his UFC 318 win, but also sees many other fun options at lightweight.

Prior to the BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier, UFC 318 has a stacked lineup of preliminary bouts to get fans ready for the main event.