UFC 318: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 3: Full results

UFC 318 just wrapped up. The eighth UFC pay-per-view event of the year took place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. It marked the promotion's first visit to the city in more than a decade, featuring 14 fights across eight weight classes. This article recaps the fights and explores the UFC 318 full results.

In the main event, No.6-ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier challenged No.5-ranked Max Holloway for the ceremonial BMF title in what was the Louisiana native's final competitive MMA appearance.

The trilogy fight played out in a vastly different manner from their previous fights, as Holloway was able to score an early knockdown with a straight right and establish an early lead. He invested heavily in kicks to the body and leg, limiting Poirier's offensive entries and movement.

The Hawaiian's improved power and speed proved definitive as he was able to hurt Poirier again in Round 2 and control him with ground-and-pound strikes.

While it appeared to be the beginning of the end for Poirier, he got back on his feet and knocked Holloway down with an overhand right, landing vicious ground and pound shots until the end of the round.

Poirier appeared to be landing the more impactful strikes as the fight entered championship rounds, while Holloway seemed to put together the more effective combinations consistently.

Holloway refused to engage in a brawl as Poirier tried to make things ugly in the final round. Both men had their moments, and Holloway's flurry forced Poirier to clinch up at the final bell after they decided to stand and trade with 10 seconds left.

The judges scored the contest in Holloway's favor, declaring him the winner by unanimous decision.

With the result of their trilogy fight, the Holloway vs. Poirier rivalry ended with a 2-1 record for 'The Diamond', who left his gloves in the octagon as a sign of his retirement from competitive MMA.

In the co-main event, top 15 middleweights Paulo Costa and Roman Kopylov battled it out for three rounds. Kopylov particularly struggled with Costa's kicks and body shots early. Although Kopylov made a late comeback in the final round, Costa had already done enough to convince the judges and earned a unanimous decision victory.

Welterweights Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez delivered one of the best fights of the year. While the fight was relatively close heading into Round 2, Rodriguez hurt Holland several times on the feet and came dangerously close to getting a knockout win. However, Holland avoided being finished and turned the tables in Round 3, hurting a visibly fatigued Rodriguez and pressing the attack.

Rodriguez successfully stalled the action and controlled Holland on the ground until the final bell, ultimately scoring a unanimous decision win.

Bellator legend Patricio Pitbull scored his maiden UFC victory against Dan Ige on the main card. After a relatively slow opening round, the action picked up as Pitbull hurt Ige with his strikes in Round 2. The Hawaiian managed to survive the scare and even hurt Pitbull in the final round with an intercepting knee. Nevertheless, Pitbull maintained his composure and effectively utilized his grappling skills to outpoint Ige en route to a unanimous decision win.

In the main card opening bout, veteran fighter Michael Johnson secured a massive upset win over rising contender Daniel Zellhuber. Johnson showcased effective striking, targeting his taller opponent's body, which opened up opportunities for head strikes, leading to the only knockdown of the fight. The judges scored two rounds for Johnson, declaring him the winner by unanimous decision.

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UFC 318: Preliminary card results

In the preliminary card headlining bout, No.15-ranked bantamweight contender Vinicius Oliveira faced No.12-ranked Kyler Phillips. Oliveira scored the only knockdown of the fight and outstruck Phillips 96-49 en route to a unanimous decision victory.

In a middleweight grudge match, Brendan Allen controlled the action with his striking and grappling. Marvin Vettori, known for his durability, landed several good shots of his own. Ultimately, all three judges scored the contest in favor of Allen, declaring him the winner by unanimous decision.

Nikolay Veretennikov defeated Francisco Prado in a clash of styles. Veretennikov established an early lead with his striking, but Prado made the fight more competitive with his grappling. Two of the three judges scored the contest in Veretennikov's favor.

Middleweight contender Ateba Gautier scored the only finish on the preliminary card, overwhelming Robert Valentin with a flurry of strikes that dropped him and prompted the referee to stop the action following a few more shots.

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UFC 318: Early Prelims results

In the early prelims headlining bout, Islam Dulatov dropped Adam Fugitt with a left check hook, finishing the fight with a couple of follow-up shots. It marked the UFC debut of the 'Dana White's Contender Series' graduate, who has now improved his record to 12-1.

Elsewhere, Ryan Spann and Brunno Ferreira scored submissions against Lukasz Brzeski and Jackson McVey, respectively.

In the first fight of the night, Carli Judice knocked out Nicolle Caliari with a vicious knee to the body and a few follow-up strikes.

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Check out the UFC 318 full results below:

Main card

Main event: Lightweight - Max Holloway def. Dustin Poirier by unanimous decision (49-46 X 2, 48-47) (BMF title fight)

Co-main event: Middleweight - Paulo Costa def. Roman Kopylov by unanimous decision (30-27 X 2, 29-28)

Welterweight - Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)

Featherweight - Patricio Pitbull def. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)

Lightweight - Michael Johnson def. Daniel Zellhuber by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)

Preliminary card

Bantamweight - Vinicius Oliveira def. Kyler Phillips by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)

Middleweight - Brendan Allen def. Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision (30-27 X 2, 29-28)

Welterweight - Nikolay Veretennikov def. Francisco Prado by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Middleweight - Ateba Gautier def. Robert Valentin by T/KO (R1, 1:10)

Early prelims

Welterweight - Islam Dulatov def. Adam Fugitt by T/KO (R1, 4:06)

Light heavyweight - Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio by submission (Armbar) (R1, 4:42)

Heavyweight - Ryan Spann def. Lukasz Brzeski by submission (Guillotine choke) (R1, 2:47)

Middleweight - Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey by submission (Armbar) (R1,3:35)

Women's flyweight - Carli Judice def. Nicolle Caliari by T/KO (R3, 1:30)