Max Holloway successfully defended his UFC BMF Championship title, securing a decisive unanimous decision victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 in New Orleans on Saturday.
Holloway (28-8) outstruck Poirier, landing 201 blows compared to his opponent`s 109, and achieving 53% accuracy on significant strikes, thus avenging his previous losses in 2012 and 2019.
This bout marked the final appearance of Poirier`s career in the octagon; the American concluded his journey with an overall record of 30-10.
In front of his home crowd in Louisiana, Poirier was knocked down twice in the opening two rounds and struggled to keep up with Holloway`s pace.
Poirier`s best moment came late in the second round when he managed to secure a chokehold and land several ground strikes, but Holloway successfully escaped before the round ended.
The former interim lightweight champion, Poirier, departs from the UFC with two notable victories over Conor McGregor, as well as wins against Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler.
Other Notable Fights at UFC 318
In the co-main event, middleweight Paulo Costa (15-4) broke a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision victory over Roman Kopylov.
Daniel Rodriguez (20-5) pulled off a significant upset in the welterweight division, defeating Kevin Holland (28-14) by unanimous decision.
Rodriguez entered the fight as a 17/4 underdog and secured his third consecutive victory.
In the featherweight bout, Patricio Freire (37-8) defeated Dan Ige by unanimous decision, executing five takedowns across three rounds.
The main card also delivered another surprise: Michael Johnson (25-19), considered a 19/4 underdog, landed 81 strikes to defeat his lightweight rival Daniel Zellhuber, securing his third consecutive victory.
