Dustin Poirier | Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Dustin Poirier, it’s time to say goodbye.
Parting is such sweet sorrow, especially when we’re talking about one of the most exciting, most accomplished, and most beloved fighters in MMA history. You know a fighter is special when the UFC is willing to build a show around them without a title on the line.
True, the UFC 318 main event technically involves a belt as Poirier gets his second chance to become “BMF” champion when he takes on Max Holloway, but let’s be real, this is all about honoring Poirier as he makes the walk to the octagon for the last time.
He couldn’t have a more fitting dance partner as he takes on Holloway, a fellow legend whose career has ran almost parallel to Poirier’s. They first met in 2012, then again in 2019, and now, as elder statesmen, they prepare to send off Poirier in style.
MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin, Alexander K. Lee, and Jed Meshew look ahead to this Saturday’s pay-per-view in New Orleans and ponder what the trilogy bout means for these two warriors, plus other storylines to watch on the UFC’s July pay-per-view.
1. What does Holloway vs. Poirier 3 mean for their respective legacies?
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier
Martin: As much as this event is built around Dustin Poirier’s retirement, the fight itself means a whole lot more for Max Holloway because he’s not done yet. Had he decided to stick around at lightweight after delivering one of the greatest finishes in MMA history with his last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Holloway could already be a title contender at 155 pounds. Instead, he went back to featherweight and lost to Ilia Topuria. He can catapult himself right back near the top of the lightweight division with an emphatic win.
Add to that, Holloway is currently 0-2 against Poirier and there’s no way he wants to end this trilogy with a third straight loss.
For Poirier, it’s a rare chance for a fighter to end his career off a marquee win — and let’s be honest those happy moments can pretty much be counted on one hand. But Poirier is cemented as an all-time fan favorite regardless of the outcome of this fight. He would certainly rather retire off a win than a loss, but the New Orleans crowd, every fan watching around the world, and anybody who knows anything about MMA is going to give Poirier his flowers no matter what happens at UFC 318.
Lee: Even though Holloway is essentially being brought in to do a job (whether that job is sending Poirier out on his shield or giving Poirier one more highlight-reel win is still to be determined), this is an oddly meaningful bout for him from a pure numbers perspective.
If he loses on Saturday, he’ll be 0-3 against two of his greatest rivals, Poirier and Alexander Volkanovski. That’s weird, right? There isn’t another all-time great fighter that has experienced that level of futility when stepping into the cage with their most noted opposition and it’s just something I’ll think about whenever we talk about Holloway’s legacy. So there’s that.
On the flip-side, Poirier can add one more incredible win to one of the best résumés that doesn’t include an undisputed title. He finished Holloway inside of a round in the first fight, won an all-time classic in their rematch, and if he beats Holloway in another thriller he’ll be able to ride those good vibes for the rest of his days. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn out like Katie Taylor–Amanda Serrano 3.
Meshew: Not a thing.
Saturday’s main event is incredible and is probably the front-runner for Fight of the Year without a punch being thrown, but it is surprisingly meaningless.
By my estimation, if Holloway retired tomorrow, he’d be one of the 20 greatest fighters of all time, and you could make a strong argument he’s higher than that. By the same token, regardless of what happens on Saturday, Poirier will go down as one of the 50 greatest fighters ever, and more importantly, one of the most beloved.
Poirier already has two wins over Holloway, two wins over Conor McGregor, and a slew of other massive wins. On top of that, he’s one of very few fighters to earn Fight of the Year honors more than once. Despite never having won an undisputed title, Poirier is a no-doubt-about-it, first-ballot Hall of Famer, whatever happens on Saturday. He just has the chance to do something very few people do in this sport, go out on a win.
And for Holloway, his career doesn’t seem close to ending. While Holloway definitely seems like he’s no longer at the peak of his powers, he’s still quite young, and all-time great fighters have a tendency to have great performances for years after their primes. A win over Poirier would be a nice additional feather in his cap, but it wouldn’t really move the needle, and a loss makes almost no difference.
The meaning of this fight is entirely in the fan experience and enjoying one last walk from one of the greatest action fighters ever as he matches up with another all-time great. It’s an entirely self-contained fight, and honestly, that’s perfect.
2. Who needs a win more? Paulo Costa or Patricio Pitbull?
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Patricio Pitbull
Meshew: Patricio Pitbull and it’s not close.
Everybody knew when Pitbull came over to the UFC that he was past his prime, but there was still the hope that he’d magic his way into a title fight, for old time’s sake. After all, Michael Chandler isn’t even good and he was two punches away from winning the belt, why couldn’t Pitbull do it? Unfortunately, if Pitbull can’t beat Dan Ige, then he’s definitely not going to do it.
On the other side, how much does anyone really care about Paulo Costa anymore? It feels like he hasn’t fought in a lifetime, and while he had a moment near the top, Costa is another classic instance of a fighter who was hot for a moment and then ultimately burned out.
Martin: There’s no doubt Pitbull desperately needs a win here or suddenly he becomes very irrelevant as a 38-year-old veteran with the sand running out of the hourglass. Pitbull is arguably the greatest Bellator fighter in history and he made a whole lot of noise to get released from the PFL so he could finally sign with the UFC.
Sadly, his first performance was completely forgettable. He just looked like a deer in the headlights in his fight against Yair Rodriguez. If Pitbull can’t provide some excitement and a big win on Saturday against a very dangerous but fringe top 15 fighter in Ige, his prospects for the future are almost null and void. Chandler earned himself some grace by laying waste to Dan Hooker in his debut even if he’s only gone 1-5 since then.
Pitbull not only needs a win, he has to show he can hang with elite featherweights in the UFC or his career inside the octagon might end quicker than former Bellator champion Will Brooks.
Lee: Costa doesn’t just need a win, he needs a knockout, because he’s one more loss away from fading all the way into irrelevance.
Every time people bring up Costa’s supposed punching power, I chortle. The man has not won a fight by KO/TKO in seven years. Obviously, that has a lot to do with inactivity, but he’s fought six times since his most recent finish and outside of a couple of bright spots, he hasn’t been able to put anyone down. I get that he’s popular still, but being a meme lord can only take you so far.
So please, Costa, give your fans some hope that your in-cage career hasn’t gone completely bust because you’re two more disappointing performances away from campaigning to be the B-side in an influencer boxing match.
3. Outside of the main event, what is the most “BMF” fight on the card?
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Vinicius Oliveira
Lee: Oh my goodness, Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira, why are you flying under the radar?
We don’t get to see Phillips fight enough, so it’s easy to forget that when he started his UFC career he immediately stood out as one of the most exciting fighters in the deep bantamweight division. At 30, “The Matrix” still has plenty of time to make a run to a title shot and stealing some of Oliveira’s shine would be a huge step in that direction.
Also, let’s admit it, the whole “BMF” theme for UFC 318 is pretty shaky and I choose to believe the matchmakers pushed to make sure this fight happened on this card. Because if Phillips and Oliveira deliver to their full potential, even Holloway and Poirier will find themselves with a tough act to follow.
Meshew: In any classic sense, it’s pretty obviously Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez.
While people think “BMF” stands for “Baddest Mother F*cker” they are mistaken. It actually stands for “Bmost Mpopular Fjourneyman” belt. The B, the M, and the F are all silent. Just look at who created the belt in the first place: Nate Diaz, to promote a fight with Jorge Masvidal. I’ve been around this sport a long time, and while both men were rock-solid fighters over their careers, Diaz and Masvidal are not in the Top 100 of all-time greats. Maybe not in the Top 500. They were good fighters whose popularity vastly outstripped their abilities.
And that feels pretty much perfectly aligned for Kevin Holland. “Big Mouth” is wildly popular but has never put together a sustained run of excellence, in part because he’s bounced around weight classes. On his best day he can be a problem for anyone, but he’s also prone to losing to less-talented fighters with a solid game plan (and likely some wrestling). And while Rodriguez is certainly not nearly as popular as any of the aforementioned fighters, he still feels like he’s in the same boat. Good but not great, but probably more well-regarded casually than he actually is.
Martin: I’m going to stand on an island with this pick but I’m saying Brendan Allen vs. Marvin Vettori—and not because I expect this to necessarily look like a Fight of the Year. What it really comes down to is how much these two hate each other—there’s so much bad blood, they famously got into a brawl inside a casino at a PFL event this past August.
Now we’ve seen in the past that utter disdain between fighters can still lead to a real stinker—look no further than Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape—but Allen and Vettori are both coming off back-to-back losses and neither of them wants to give an inch to the other when it comes to a potential third consecutive defeat. That could result in a staring contest, but it could also force one or both of them to throw caution to the wind and go for the finish to ensure job security. And there’s a good chance this one doesn’t end with a handshake when it’s all over so the fireworks might not stop with the final horn.