Live results, analysis from UFC 318: Poirier vs. Holloway 3

 

The main event is approaching, as Dustin Poirier makes his final entrance to the UFC Octagon in his home state of Louisiana, where he will compete against his longtime rival Max Holloway for the BMF title (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV; prelims at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+). "The Diamond" aims for his 31st MMA victory (across all promotions) in his 41st professional fight. Both Poirier and Holloway have achieved 22 UFC wins. With a 23rd victory, one of them will join Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, Charles Oliveira, and Andrei Arlovski at No. 2 on the all-time wins list.

Poirier and Holloway have faced each other twice previously, with Poirier winning both encounters. In their initial matchup in 2012, Poirier introduced the then-20-year-old Holloway to the UFC with a first-round triangle armbar submission. This remains the only instance of Holloway being submitted in his career. Seven years later, they clashed for the interim lightweight championship, where Poirier halted Holloway's 13-fight win streak by unanimous decision.

In this upcoming bout, Holloway will be defending the BMF title he claimed from Justin Gaethje last April for the first time. Holloway holds the record for the most active striker in UFC history, having landed a UFC-record 3,457 significant strikes over 30 fights. He has achieved over 100 significant strikes per fight in a record 16 UFC matches.

Stay tuned with Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim as they cover all the action and provide insights and results from the Smoothie King Center.