UFC 318 predictions: Picks and odds for Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier card
Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier will headline UFC 318 with a lightweight fight at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
It will be the third meeting in the Octagon between the two fighters. Poirier has won the first two fights in the series, with the first coming by a triangle armbar submission at UFC 143 in 2012. It was Holloway’s first career loss and his featherweight debut.
Poirier won the last fight between the two by unanimous decision to claim the interim UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 236 in 2019 and earned Fight of the Night honors. It was later ranked as UFC.com’s No. 4 Fight of the Year.
“Max has beaten the best of the best and will be in the hall of fame,” Poirier said on ESPN’s "First Take" when asked about fighting Holloway. “He’s a good dude and he’s a real fighter cut from that old school cloth, so it’s an honor to have him be my last fight in the UFC. It’s kind of poetic because I was his debut fight in the UFC and now he’s my last fight.”
Holloway will be looking to bounce back from a loss to Ilia Topuria in a featherweight title bout.
Poirier is also coming off a loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev by submission in the fifth round.
UFC 318: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier predictions
BetMGM: Poirier wins by submission
Anatoly Pimentel writes: “I predict that this match will be a submission victory for Poirier because I believe that he’ll utilize his grappling skills against Holloway, despite an expected war in the striking department. This is something that Poirier did during his first match against Holloway, and scored a first-round submission win.”
NYSafeBets: Holloway by decision
The site writes: “This fight is a razor-close matchup between two elite veterans, but the edge leans slightly toward Holloway. ... Unless Poirier lands a fight-changing left hand, Holloway’s pace, jab, and durability should edge him ahead across five rounds.”
Sidekickboxing: Holloway by decision in a close fight
The site writes: “This fight is as close to a coin flip as it gets. Poirier’s 2-0 lead in the series is real, but this version of Holloway—now confident at lightweight and coming off a historic finish—has both the momentum and tools to finally flip the script. If he can survive the early power and ramp up his output late, Max has a path to victory through volume, control, and cage generalship. Expect a razor-close contest, but Holloway may edge it by split decision and capture a meaningful win in this long-running trilogy.”
UFC 318: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier date
Max Holloway will face Dustin Poirier on Saturday, July 19 at the Smoothie King Center, New Orleans.
- Date: Saturday, July 19
- Time: 10 p.m. ET
- Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira main event cage walks: 12:25 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN (Prelims), ESPN 2 (Early Prelims)
- Stream: ESPN+, Disney+ (Early Prelims/Prelims), ESPN PPV (Main Card)
UFC 318: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier: TV and streaming information
The Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier main card will be streamed on ESPN Pay-Per-View. The early prelims and prelims fight will be available to stream on ESPN+ and Disney+.
UFC 318: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier fight card and odds
Fight card according to ESPN and all odds via BetMGM.
(Odds as of Thursday)
Main Card
- Max Holloway (-140) vs. Dustin Poirier (+115)
- Paulo Costa (+190) vs. Roman Kopylov (-235)
- Kevin Holland (-500) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (+360)
- Dan Ige (-220) vs. Patricio Pitbull Freire (+180)
- Michael Johnson (+425) vs. Daniel Zellhuber (-600)
Prelims
- Kyler Phillips (+125) vs. Vinicius Oliveira (-155)
- Marvin Vettori (+165) vs. Brendan Allen (-200)
- Francisco Prado (-150) vs. Nikolay Veretennikov (+125)
- Ateba Gautier (-550) vs. Robert Valentin (+400)
Early prelims
- Adam Fugitt (+425) vs. Islam Dulatov (-600)
- Jimmy Crute (-325) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+260)
- Ryan Spann (-225) vs. Łukasz Brzeski (+185)
- Brunno Ferreira (-600) vs. Jackson McVey (+425)
- Carli Judice (-350) vs. Nicolle Caliari (+275)