UFC 318 takes centre stage in New Orleans this weekend as long-time rivals Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier contest a high-profile trilogy fight.
It will be an emotional occasion in his home state of Louisiana for Poirier, 36, who is fighting for the final time before retiring from the octagon.
‘The Diamond’ is officially calling time on a 15-year MMA career after his 41st fight, one that has brought 30 wins so far and three separate challenges for the UFC lightweight title, with so many headline moments including those back-to-back wins over Conor McGregor in 2021.
Poirier - who will be accompanied to the octagon on Saturday night by Lil Wayne - has lost three of his last five fights including those latter title challenges against Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, by whom he was submitted in the fifth round of a thriller in the main event of UFC 302 in New Jersey last summer.
Now he will hope to go out as BMF champion as he contests a third clash with fellow veteran and UFC royalty Holloway, the former featherweight champion who had held the symbolic belt since knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Holloway last fought to try and regain the featherweight gold at UFC 308 in October, but was knocked out for the first time in his career by the formidable - now lightweight champion - Ilia Topuria.
Poirier has won both previous bouts against Holloway, by submission in the first round at UFC 143 all the way back in 2012, then by decision at UFC 236 to become interim lightweight champion in April 2019.
Elsewhere on the main card, Paulo Costa and Roman Kopylov meet in a rescheduled middleweight fight, while Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez finally collide at welterweight.
Former Bellator superstar Patricio Pitbull will hope to bounce back from losing his UFC debut to Yair Rodriguez as he meets Dan Ige, while Michael Johnson and Daniel Zellhuber also clash at lighweight.
UFC 318 date and venue
UFC 318: Holloway vs Poirier 3 takes place on Saturday July 19, 2025.
The event will be held at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
UFC 318 start time
The early prelims are due to start at 11pm BST on Saturday night, which is 6pm ET and 3pm PT in the USA.
The main prelims take place from 1am BST in the early hours of Sunday morning, 8pm ET and 5pm PT.
The main card begins at 3am BST, 10pm ET and 7pm PT.
UFC 318 fight card
Main card
Max Holloway vs Dustin Poirier 3 - men’s lightweight bout for Holloway’s BMF title
Paulo Costa vs Roman Kopylov - men’s middleweight bout
Kevin Holland vs Daniel Rodriguez - men’s welterweight bout
Dan Ige vs Patricio Pitbull - men’s featherweight bout
Michael Johnson vs Daniel Zellhuber - men’s lightweight bout
Prelims
Kyler Phillips vs Vinicius Oliveira - men’s bantamweight bout
Marvin Vettori vs Brendan Allen - men’s middleweight bout
Francisco Prado vs Nikolay Veretennikov - men’s welterweight bout
Ateba Gautier vs Robert Valentin - men’s middleweight bout
Early prelims
Adam Fugitt vs Islam Dulatov - men’s welterweight bout
Jimmy Crute vs Marcin Prachnio - men’s light-heavyweight bout
Ryan Spann vs Lukasz Brzeski - men’s heavyweight bout
Brunno Ferreira vs Jackson McVey - men’s middleweight bout
Carli Judice vs Nicolle Caliari - women’s flyweight bout
How to watch UFC 318
TV channel: The UFC 318 prelims and main card are being broadcast live in the UK on TNT Sports 1 from 1am BST on Sunday morning.
Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also watch the action live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
The early prelims are available to watch from 11pm BST via UFC Fight Pass, a subscription to which costs £6.99 a month in the UK.
In the USA, the early prelims are live on ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, Disney+ and SiriusXM Fight Nation 156.
The prelims are on ESPN+, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Disney+ and SiriusXM Fight Nation 156, with the main card on ESPN+ PPV at a cost of $79.99.
UFC 318 latest odds
Holloway to win: 8/11
Poirier to win: 11/10
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
