Finishes were abundant on the prelims of UFC 318 in New Orleans. The first six fights ended early and five never made it out of the first round. The next three got to decision, but all three were full of action from bell-to-bell.
The main card is next, leading up to Dustin Poirier‘s final walk to the UFC Octagon in his home state of Louisiana, where he’ll face his longtime rival Max Holloway for the BMF title (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV; prelims at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+). “The Diamond” will be going for his 31st MMA victory (all promotions) in his 41st professional appearance. Both Poirier and Holloway have 22 UFC wins. With a 23rd, one fighter will join Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Charles Oliveira and Andrei Arlovski at No. 2 on the career wins list.
Poirier and Holloway have fought twice before, and Poirier saw his hand raised on both occasions. In their first fight in 2012, Poirier welcomed the then-20-year-old Holloway to the UFC with a first-round triangle armbar. It’s the only time Holloway has been submitted in his career. Seven years later, they met for the interim lightweight belt, and Poirier ended Holloway’s 13-fight win streak by unanimous decision.
This time around, Holloway will be making his first defense of the BMF belt he defeated Justin Gaethje for last April. Holloway is the most active striker in UFC history, with a UFC-record 3,457 significant strikes in 30 fights. He has landed over 100 significant strikes per fight in a record 16 UFC bouts.
Also on the main card, middleweights Paulo Costa and Roman Kopylov, who both finish opponents at an 86% clip, meet on opposite ends of the momentum spectrum. Costa has lost four of his past five fights, including the current two-loss streak, while Kopylov has won his past two and five of his past seven fights.
Follow along with Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim as they relay all the sights and sounds from the Smoothie King Center and provide analysis and results.
