Justin Poirier couldn’t safe a dream sendoff in closing combat of his 16-year storied UFC profession, dropping to Max Holloway.
The trilogy combat between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier could not have been a microcosm of their first two encounters, nevertheless it delivered an electrifying closing 15 seconds when Holloway and the retiring Poirier traded blows within the fifth spherical.
The consequence was a victory for light-weight Holloway by unanimous choice on the three judges’ playing cards – 48-47, 49-46, 49-46 – at UFC 318 in New Orleans on Saturday night time.
Holloway (27-8 MMA) was stylish in victory towards Poirier, as he had misplaced the primary two fights of the collection earlier than returning the favour in Louisiana native Poirier’s final blended martial arts bout.
“The baddest man alive, bro,” stated Holloway, 33. “Give it up for Dustin Poirier.”
A primary-round knockdown from the Hawaiian set the tone early as Holloway almost completed Poirier (30-10), however his 36-year-old opponent persevered.
By the fourth spherical, Poirier had little vitality left however admitted post-fight that he was impressed that the previous featherweight champion Holloway’s placing was nonetheless as sharp as ever. In keeping with the ultimate stats on the printed, Holloway outlanded Poirier 113-99 in vital head strikes.
“I believed he was going to be in right here cracking a bit bit more durable, which he was,” Poirier stated of Holloway. “This man is hard to cope with when he’s in entrance of you. He’s slick. He’s artful. He’s quick. He’s the [BMF] champ. I bought nothing however respect for Max, man. He’s one of many good guys.”
Holloway made his first defence of the “BMF” title a profitable one since successful it final April at UFC 300. It’s unclear what path the belt takes, as it’s not related to a division and has been used occasionally since November 2019.
In earlier matches, Paulo Costa of Brazil bought again within the win column with a unanimous choice over Roman Kopylov, utilising his boxing to comb the playing cards 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Costa (15-4) stays within the middleweight title image, whereas Kopylov (14-4) has received his final two fights.
The following two fights additionally noticed one other string of selections, with welterweight Daniel Rodriguez outlasting Kevin Holland regardless of a late rally from Holland, almost ending him within the third spherical with strikes. The playing cards learn 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, as Holland (28-14) was one other betting favorite on the expense of Rodriguez (20-5).
Patricio Pitbull earned his first UFC victory with a win by unanimous choice over featherweight Dan Ige by equivalent 29-28 scores. Pitbull’s wrestling was an excessive amount of for Ige, who entered the combat having misplaced two of his final three fights. Pitbull (37-8) final fought in April at UFC 314, the place Ige (19-10) earned a win on the identical card.
UFC 318’s pay-per-view bought beneath approach with light-weight Michael Johnson incomes a unanimous choice in an upset of Daniel Zellhuber. The 39-year-old Johnson (24-19) was a major underdog coming into the combat however received the playing cards with matching 29-28 scores. A second-round knockdown swung the combat in Johnson’s favour, as Zellhuber (15-3) has now misplaced back-to-back outings.