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Brett Okamoto
NEW ORLEANS — Dustin Poirier couldn’t secure a win in the final fight of his storied UFC career Saturday — but ultimately, that mattered very little.
Poirier’s final walk to the Octagon at UFC 318 inside the Smoothie King Center ended in a unanimous decision loss to former featherweight champion Max Holloway, but it was still a fitting end to his 16-year professional career. The five-round BMF title fight saw several dramatic swings of momentum and culminated in the two meeting in the middle of Holloway’s patented point-down exchange.
All three judges scored the lightweight bout for Holloway: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. Immediately after the win, Holloway (27-8) welcomed all BMF challengers and made a brief reference to 155-pound champion Ilia Topuria before ceding the spotlight to Poirier (30-10).
“It’s been overwhelming honestly,” Poirier said about the amount of fight-week adoration he received. “I feel appreciated. I feel seen. I never stepped outside of fighting and looked at it this way. I never got to look at it third person. This week has been incredible. I feel loved by the fans, Louisiana and the company. I’m a kid living the dream out here, man, throwing punches.”
Holloway accomplished his goal of playing the spoiler.
“I’m pretty happy,” Holloway said. Poirier can still hit hard, he said, “but he kept coming back and back. I came in, and I knew I was going to try and be the spoiler and the villain.”
Poirier, 36, retires in a tie for the fifth-most wins in UFC history with 22. He is also tied for fourth-most knockouts with 11.
Poirier’s legacy involves three undisputed title appearances in 2019, 2021 and 2024. He came up short in each, against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. He captured an interim lightweight title in 2019, though, by defeating Holloway via unanimous decision in an instant five-round classic.
Saturday’s trilogy against Holloway — Poirier won the first two meetings — featured everything the sport came to expect from a Poirier fight. Holloway dropped him with a right hand in the opening minutes, but Poirier survived and scrambled back to his feet. Holloway dropped him again in the second round, but Poirier recovered and actually dropped Holloway later in the frame and shot for a guillotine.
Poirier walked out to the Octagon with New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, in a poetic nod; Poirier, who was born and raised in Lafayette, walked out to Lil Wayne’s track “A Milli” for his UFC debut in 2011. The UFC rearranged its schedule to book Poirier’s final fight in his home state.
According to UFC Stats, Holloway, of Hawaii, outlanded Poirier in total strikes 186-114. Poirier cut Holloway under his left eye in the fourth round, but the volume of Holloway’s strikes also started to take a toll around that same time. Poirier’s movements grew a little sluggish late, although he still had enough to accept Holloway’s invitation to stand in the center of the Octagon and swing at the end of the fight.
It’s a big win for Holloway, who came off the first knockout loss of his career to Topuria in their 145-pound title fight in October. UFC president Dana White said Holloway is “in a great position right now” for a potential title rematch with Topuria at 155 pounds.
“He just defends that BMF title. He’s ranked No. 4 in the world there,” White said. “Anything is possible for Max right now.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
