Video: Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier face off ahead of their trilogy fight
The UFC 318 headliners finally came face-to-face today, marking their first encounter this fight week, as they prepare for their highly anticipated trilogy fight.
UFC 318 marks the promotion’s return to New Orleans after more than a decade. This Saturday’s pay-per-view event at the Smoothie King Center will feature a stacked card, highlighted by the retirement fight of a former interim champion Dustin Poirier.
The first face off between Holloway and Poirier ahead of #UFC318 👀
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 15, 2025
(via @ufc) pic.twitter.com/ADbW7jL30e
Poirier will make his final walk to the UFC Octagon against Max Holloway at UFC 318, a fitting end as Poirier was Holloway’s first opponent in his 2012 UFC debut.
Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier are set to clash for the third and final time on July 18. Poirier currently holds a 2-0 lead in their series, having submitted Holloway in 2012 and secured an interim lightweight title via decision in 2019.
This rubber match sees former UFC featherweight champion Holloway defending his symbolic BMF championship. He earned this title with his 2024 “Knockout of the Year” against Justin Gaethje, who previously claimed the vacant belt by knocking out Poirier.