UFC legends Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier are set to meet for the third time inside the Octagon on July 19.
The bout, which is expected to be the final fight of Poirier’s career, is scheduled to headline UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, in Poirier’s home state of Louisiana. The fight will be for the BMF title.
Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8, 1 NC UFC) revealed after his most recent fight—a submission loss to UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev—that his next appearance would be his last.
There was plenty of speculation regarding who his final opponent might be. “The Diamond” admitted he had hoped to face either Justin Gaethje or Ilia Topuria, but the UFC ultimately decided on Holloway.
“I was asking Hunter [Campbell] for Gaethje,” Poirier told MMA Junkie. “We’re 1-1, and I wanted to close out that trilogy. For some reason, they really wanted this fight. That’s cool because I respect Max for my last fight.”
“When Ilia said he was going to 155, I texted the UFC and said, ‘Hey, let me know what’s going on with this guy.’ But they never entertained it. They told me it’s not happening and they wanted Max.”
Former UFC featherweight champion Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) returns to the lightweight division following a failed bid to reclaim the 145-pound title last October. “Blessed” suffered a devastating knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in that bout.
Before that, Holloway delivered one of the most impressive performances of his career, dominating Justin Gaethje in the co-main event at UFC 300 and capping it off with one of the most jaw-dropping finishes in UFC history—flattening “The Highlight” in the final seconds of the fight.
Poirier and Holloway first faced off back in 2012, in what was Holloway’s UFC debut. Poirier submitted the Hawaiian in the first round—a result that remains the only submission loss of Holloway’s career.
They met again in 2019. At the time, Holloway was the reigning UFC featherweight champion and temporarily moved up to 155 pounds to challenge Poirier at UFC 236. Poirier outpointed Holloway over five rounds to earn the unanimous decision victory.
