Max Holloway faces Dustin Poirier for the third time at UFC 318 on Saturday.
The trilogy marks the end of an epic career for Poirier, who has asserted this will be his last fight and he will retire upon the conclusion of UFC 318 in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Holloway, meanwhile, still has championship goals to pursue in the sport, as he has vowed to set up a UFC lightweight title shot with Ilia Topuria through victory on Saturday night.
Holloway is the slight oddsmaker’s favourite heading into the fight, but the main event of UFC 318 has left the promotion’s past and present stars mostly divided.
Who is backing Max Holloway?
Paddy Pimblett
Liverpool’s MMA star Pimblett believes the pressure of fighting in front of his home crowd may prove too much for Poirier.
“I can see Holloway winning, to be honest. [I] don’t know why. I think it’s just one of them,” ‘The Baddy’ told The Verse Us Podcast.
“Dustin’s fighting in his hometown, [it’s] his last fight. Everyone expects him to win. The pressure – I think he might [lose].
“You might think it’s a bit more favourable because he beat him twice, though.”
Henry Cejudo
Former two-division UFC champion Cejudo has predicted Holloway to overcome Poirier after five rounds.
“I can see Max Holloway potentially getting that win,” he said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast.
“Call me crazy, [but] the pressure is on Poirier. This fight is going to go the distance, because they’ve been in there with each other for too long.”
Demetrious Johnson
“I’m going to go with Max Holloway,” Johnson explained on his Mighty podcast.
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UFC 318 Main Card
New Orleans, Louisiana, July 19
- Main Event: Max Holloway (26-8-0) vs. Dustin Poirier (30-9-0) – Lightweight BMF title fight
- Co-main Event: Paulo Costa (14-4-0) vs. Roman Kopylov (14-3-0)
- Kevin Holland (28-13-0) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (19-5-0)
- Dan Ige (19-9-0) vs. Patricio Freire (36-8-0)
- Michael Johnson (24-19-0) vs. Daniel Zellhuber (15-2-0)
“The reason why is because I feel Max Holloway has something to look forward to after this.
“Whereas Dustin, he can come into the fight fight and just be like, ‘Alright, this is my last fight. I don’t care what’s going to happen afterwards.’
“It is a little bit crazy to think that Max can beat Dustin, even though Dustin is 2-0.
“But I feel that Max can be more dynamic… Max has a new motive in this, and hopefully, he can get this done.”
Who is backing Dustin Poirier?
Tom Aspinall
UFC heavyweight champion Aspinall has predicted the entire main card for Saturday night.
Most importantly, he picked Poirier to go 3-0 in his trilogy with Holloway and retire from MMA on a win.
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In a conversation with TNT Sports, Aspinall also predicted Paulo Costa, Dan Ige, and Marvin Vettori to win at UFC 318.
Michael Bisping
British MMA pioneer Bisping believes Poirier will join him in the UFC Hall of Fame after defeating Holloway in New Orleans.
“Dustin Poirier is going to walk away and he’s going to walk away a winner,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel.
“I don’t think he knocks out Max Holloway. Yes, Ilia Topuria did that, [but] Ilia Topuria is the best boxer in the UFC…
“It’s going to be a spectacular fight. Max Holloway is going to have his moments.
“I know Holloway is going to point at the ground, and I know that Dustin Poirier will oblige, because that’s what he does.
UFC 318 Predictions
From the promotion’s biggest stars
- Paddy Pimblett – Max Holloway
- Tom Aspinall – Dustin Poirier
- Michael Bisping – Dustin Poirier
- Demetrious Johnson – Max Holloway
- Islam Makhachev – Dustin Poirier
- Kamaru Usman – Dustin Poirier
- Aljamain Sterling – Dustin Poirier
- Henry Cejudo – Max Holloway
- Anthony Smith – Dustin Poirier
“He wants to entertain in his final fight. He ain’t going to b**** out in front of his hometown and say, ‘Nah, screw that. I’m sticking to the game plan. I’m going to stick and move. I’m going to use my jab.
“He’s going to go, ‘Oh, Max Holloway does this. Alright. Well, let’s do it, buddy. Let’s go out on our shields.’
“Live by the sword, die by the sword. The arena is going to go absolutely mental. We’re going to absolutely love it.
“Dustin Poirier will be the winner via decision. He will be in the Hall of Fame.”
Islam Makhachev
Former UFC pound-for-pound king Makhachev told MMA Junkie that Poirier will retire at UFC 318 with a win.
“I think Dustin has more chance [to win],” the ex-lightweight champion, who is the last man to fight Poirier, said.
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“He told me this is his last fight, and I think he’s going to be ready. He’s going to be ready. He’s going to win.”
Kamaru Usman
Ex-UFC welterweight champion Usman found his prediction tough, but asserted Poirier’s home advantage will prevail.
“This is a tough one,” he said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast.
“It’s hard to go 0-3 in a series, because it’s like, ‘Didn’t you learn anything from the previous two times?
“Max has been looking really, really good. For what he was able to do against Justin Gaethje.
“I’m torn. I love both guys, but if I had to pick… I’m going to go with Dustin Poirier for this one.
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“This is his last fight, he’s fighting at home, and from what we’ve seen, he’s settled into that power in the lightweight division.
Aljamain Sterling
Sterling, who held the bantamweight title for two years between 2021 and 2023, believes Poirier’s size will be crucial at UFC 318.
“I just think Dustin has the size on [Holloway],” he explained on FunkMasterMMA.
“Even though Max is a good size 155-pounder, Dustin is a little bit more of a tank, and those punches just add up more.
‘Max is more of a volume guy than he is a power puncher, whereas Dustin’s got that Chewbacca.
“He touches your chin, he puts guys down. This is going to be a good sendoff for Dustin – it’s going to be a classic again.
“I don’t know if either man will get finished… Dustin looks like the surest pick for me if I were a betting guy.”
Anthony Smith
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith, who lost to Jon Jones in 2019, thinks Poirier’s power will get him the decision victory.
“Dustin is just a more impactful striker,” Smith told ESPN MMA.
“Max is great, but I don’t think he has enough power to consistently stand with these lightweights.”
UFC Hall of Famers Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans agreed with him by also predicting a Poirier decision win.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
