UFC legend and Stake Ambassador, Max Holloway, isn’t just chasing a win ahead of UFC 318, he’s chasing the kind of redemption that a true fighter will always take, given the chance. As the highly anticipated UFC 318 trilogy clash with Dustin Poirier approaches, the former featherweight king and current BMF titleholder is eyeing much more than sporting success over an old rival. In the exclusive interview Holloway gave to Stake, the fighter made his position abundantly clear: “I’m not just fighting Poirier,” he said, “I’m fighting history.”
From unfinished business with another UFC all-time great to Holloway’s undoubted championship aspirations, this bout is likely to define the next chapter in the fighter’s already legendary career. And that’s what makes it so compelling, of course, not only for avid followers of UFC bouts but for those who simply like a sporting spectacle when everything is laid on the line. In this regard, Holloway’s take on the fight leaves nothing to the imagination. He’s very honest – brutal, you might even say – about what he expects of himself in this match-up and why it is so important to him. Here’s what we know so far.
What Is UFC 318 (For Those Who Don’t Already Know)?
Even if you don’t already have an in-depth knowledge of the long-standing rivalry between Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway and Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier, the fact that these two fighters are due to come together for the final time on 19 July 2025 probably hasn’t escaped you. The bout is scheduled to take place at the Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana. ESPN+ will broadcast the fight between the two as part of UFC 318. Holloway and Poirier are top of the card, but there are some intriguing match-ups along the way, as well.
Preliminaries start at 6 pm ET with the pay-per-view main card events running from 10 pm ET. Marvin Vettori versus Brendan Allen is likely to be the pick of the undercard bouts. This is a top ten clash between middleweight fighters, while Paulo Costa versus Roman Kopylov, also part of the bill for UFC 318, provides an opportunity to see some more middleweight action from up and coming fighters. Also on the card is a featherweight bout between Dan Ige and Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire. However, there can be no doubt whatsoever that the main attraction is the lightweight match-up between Poirier and Holloway, the third time these fighters will meet in a UFC cage.
As Holloway put it during his wide-ranging pre-fight interview with Stake: “This card is stacked. From top to bottom, it’s going to be fireworks.” As a man with a richly deserved reputation for being a man of the people, Holloway also said that he will be honored to headline with such an auspicious card. “I’ll be a fan, watching the rest too,” he quipped. In fact, Holloway thinks that UFC 318 has something for everyone. “The UFC didn’t hold back with this one,” he said. “This card’s got strikers, grapplers, veterans, new blood, so it’s going to be a night [to remember].”
Holloway and Poirier – A Great Sporting Rivalry
Let’s face it – Holloway’s take on UFC 318 certainly whets the appetite. Nevertheless, that’s not why so many UFC fans are looking forward to the evening. Fighters regularly hype up events but, in this case, there isn’t any need to go overboard on talking up a good fight because we already know from their previous match-ups that the rivalry between Poirier and Holloway is real. It’s something you can almost reach and touch because it’s so present whenever the two come together. Like Ali and Foreman or Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, there’s a true sporting rivalry between Poirier and Holloway that almost transcends UFC itself. You get the impression from both of them that they’d go at it against one another, whether in the ring or out of it. Yes, there is mutual respect, but there is the deep desire to win, too, something that Poirier seems to have in equal measure to Holloway.
Cast your mind back. It is 4 February 2012, and Holloway is just 20 years of age. What’s more, he is making his UFC debut at short notice. Staged at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit were top of the card for UFC 143 after Georges St-Pierre, who was originally planning to defend his Welterweight division title, had to pull out. St-Pierre wasn’t the only fighter who needed to withdraw due to injury, however. Poirier was set to fight Erik Koch, who pulled out at short notice. When his replacement, Ricardo Lamas, was also forced to withdraw through injury, the young Holloway was offered the chance to step in, the start of a great sporting rivalry.
Poirier won at UFC 143 with a submission, a triangle armbar, in the first round. Many fans agreed that Holloway showed courage and promise, but it was undoubtedly a deserved win for the more experienced fighter. Holloway learned a lot from the bout, and it was clear that he would not make the same mistakes again, something that became increasingly obvious as his career went from strength to strength after that. Holloway stayed in the featherweight division and would eventually become the UFC champion in that weight class on 3 June 2017 at UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he beat the much-vaunted José Aldo.
Meanwhile, Poirier moved up to the lightweight division and climbed the ranks in it. As such, it was only when Holloway had also made the move up to lightweight that the rivalry would be reignited at UFC 236. This time, the two were top of the card and their second coming together in the cage was hugely anticipated. For one thing, the stakes were higher with the Interim Lightweight Championship on the line. Holloway was still the reigning UFC Featherweight Champion, and many fans were intrigued to witness whether his style would suit the shift up in division. This time, the bout ran the course of the full five rounds, and there was widespread agreement that this had been a much better spectacle for fans of both fighters as well as neutrals. In the end, Poirier took the victory on a unanimous decision.
However, Poirier’s win only tells part of the story. At UFC 236, both fighters landed over 170 strikes. This fact alone demonstrates that the bout was one of the most competitive and action-packed fights in UFC history. For sheer entertainment value, there are few match-ups that come anywhere close. Holloway himself agrees with the almost unprecedented nature of the fight. As he said in his Stake.com interview: “Every time I’ve fought Dustin, it’s made me better. That fight at 236? We both left pieces of ourselves in there.” Holloway also went on the record to say that his second bout with Poirier was one of the toughest of his life. “It showed what I’m made of,” he said, and who could doubt him?
Why This Card Hits Differently
The trilogy clash between Holloway and Poirier is anticipated by both men and all UFC fans. With Poirier two up so far from their previous bouts, you cannot reasonably argue that this match-up is a dead rubber. Why? Because there is clearly so much at stake for both men. Firstly, Poirier has already announced that this will be the final bout of his career. For a man who has enjoyed such a successful time as a UFC fighter, the idea that he will want to go out on anything other than a high simply isn’t plausible. In other words, Poirier is in it to win it – make no mistake about it.
For his part, Holloway clearly relishes the opportunity to get a win over his great rival. Beating Poirier would mean obtaining final closure over their previous two encounters. Of course, Holloway, being a man of the people, takes a great deal of pride in the performances he puts out. Winning against Poirier would be something that UFC fans could truly get behind as a great way to end one of the all-time rivalries in the sport. A loss, by contrast, would mean Poirier could always claim to have been the better fighter, so both men have a lot invested in the win.
Remember, too, that Holloway is heading into this intriguing bout with all the momentum behind him, given his viral win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 on 13 April 2024. If you haven’t seen it, then perhaps all you need to know about this fight is that Holloway won by a knockout punch in the final second of the bout. This much-shared moment has brought many new fans to the sport as it demonstrates just how compelling UFC match-ups can be.
Okay, UFC 318 might not be a title fight for the two, but there can be few other bouts which have been so looked-forward to from the perspective of fighters’ legacies. And, if you needed any extra spice to pique your interest in the bout, Holloway is putting his unofficial BMF on the line for the fight. “I don’t need gold on the line to show what I’m about,” Holloway said. “This is bigger than that.” As for his symbolic BMF title, Holloway added that he always said that he’d defend it in the right way, against killers. “Dustin is that guy,” he said.
Who Will Win – What Do the Odds Say?
At the time of writing, the Moneyline odds on Stake reflect a close battle between the two UFC greats. Holloway is slightly favored thanks to the momentum he has going into the bout and, perhaps, because Poirier, at 36 years of age, is now beyond his prime. That being said, Pioiier is a highly respected fighter, and the fact that the spreads between the two are so similar reflects the fact that experience in UFC counts for a lot. When you add to this the emotional aspect of Poirier retiring in front of what could be considered to be a home crowd, you would have to say that the odds are reasonably fair right now on who will emerge victorious.
What we know is that the spreads are likely to shift both in the run-up to the bout and during it. For those who want to lock in odds when betting on UFC 318, placing a wager sooner rather than later is likely to be the smart strategy. Holloway’s views are clear on being the slightly favored fighter for the bout. “Odds don’t win fights,” he said, revealing that when he’s been the underdog in the past, he’s found it to be motivational. He added: “The real ones know what I bring. If you’re betting, bet with heart — bet with ‘Blessed.’”
Why Bet on UFC at Stake?
It is worth noting that betting on the winner of the trilogy bout at UFC 318 is just one of the many options available. There are plenty of other bets you could make and knowledgeable advice on UFC 318 from expert picks, as well. Remember, too, that Holloway’s role as a Stake Ambassador means being able to obtain special insights into the mindset of the fighter. He’s already detailed how he’s not chasing moments in his career. As he told Stake: “I’m chasing greatness – every fight is another chapter in my legacy.”
Beyond the understanding such interviews provide, Stake is a great place to assess betting momentum as bouts progress. This is important for all UFC match-ups but for the Poirier versus Holloway bout particularly. After all, both fighters are highly adaptable and can shift tactics mid-fight meaning that betting markets are likely to be lively, especially if they change their approaches or mix up their fighting styles somewhat to get an advantage. What’s more, with informative blogs and other sports pages, Stake keeps you up to date with much more than in-play betting markets.