The UFC is back in one of the world’s truly great cities Saturday for the sendoff of a likely future Hall of Famer.
At UFC 318, former featherweight champion Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) takes on former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) for a third time in what will be Poirier’s final fight. The Louisiana native is set to retire after the bout in front of his home fans at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
The promotion has released the UFC 318 cold open video, and it pays tribute to the rivalry between the two longtime UFC standouts, who have fought two times previously. Poirier beat Holloway in Holloway’s promotional debut in 2012, then beat him for the interim lightweight belt in 2019.
The video is narrated by actor and regular UFC voice-over narrator Ron Perlman and has a special appearance by New Orleans legend Trombone Shorty.
Check out the UFC 318 cold open video above.
UFC 318 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
UFC 318 lineup
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier – for BMF title
- Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov
- Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Patricio Freire vs. Dan Ige
- Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Vinicius Oliveira vs. Kyler Phillips
- Brendan Allen vs. Marvin Vettori
- Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
- Ateba Gautier vs. Robert Valentin
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Islam Dulatov vs. Adam Fugitt
- Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Lukasz Brzeski vs. Ryan Spann
- Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey
- Nicolle Caliari vs. Carli Judice
