The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set for an action-packed summer, highlighted by the highly anticipated UFC 318 event on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Headlining the card is a monumental trilogy bout for the symbolic ‘BMF’ (Baddest Motherf*****’) title, featuring current champion Max Holloway against Dustin Poirier. This fight carries additional weight as it is being billed as Poirier’s potential retirement fight, adding an emotional layer to an already intense rivalry.
UFC 318: Holloway vs. Poirier 3 – The Main Event
UFC 318 will take place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, a fitting location for hometown hero Dustin Poirier. The main card is scheduled to kick off at 10:00 PM EDT, with early preliminary fights beginning at 6:00 PM EDT and preliminary fights at 8:00 PM EDT. Fans can catch the early prelims and prelims on ESPN and ESPN+, while the main card will be available via pay-per-view on ESPN+ (IndyStar, UFC.com).
This marks the third encounter between Holloway and Poirier. Their first clash at UFC 143 in February 2012 saw Poirier defeat Holloway via submission (triangle armbar) in the first round, which was Holloway’s UFC debut. The rematch at UFC 236 in April 2019 resulted in a unanimous decision victory for Poirier. As they meet for the third time, Max Holloway enters as the ‘BMF’ titleholder, a belt introduced in 2019 to recognize the most ferocious fighters in the UFC, rather than a traditional championship (IndyStar).
Betting odds for the main event, as per BetMGM, show Max Holloway as a slight favorite at -135, with Dustin Poirier as the underdog at +110 (IndyStar).
UFC 318 Full Fight Card & Key Matchups
Beyond the main event, UFC 318 features a stacked card:
Main Card (Approx. 10:00 PM EDT)
- Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier (Lightweight – BMF Title)
- Paulo Costa (+190) vs. Roman Kopylov (-235) (Middleweight)
- Kevin Holland (-750) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (+475) (Welterweight)
- Dan Ige (-210) vs. Patricio Pitbull Freire (+175) (Featherweight)
- Michael Johnson (+550) vs. Daniel Zellhuber (-900) (Lightweight)
Preliminary Card (Approx. 8:00 PM EDT)
- Kyler Phillips (+125) vs. Vinicius Oliveira (-150) (Bantamweight)
- Marvin Vettori (+160) vs. Brendan Allen (-190) (Middleweight)
- Francisco Prado (-130) vs. Nikolay Veretennikov (+110) (Welterweight)
- Ateba Gautier (-425) vs. Robert Valentin (+325) (Middleweight)
Early Preliminary Card (Approx. 6:00 PM EDT)
- Adam Fugitt (+500) vs. Islam Dulatov (-700) (Welterweight)
- Jimmy Crute (-350) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+275) (Light Heavyweight)
- Ryan Spann (-250) vs. Łukasz Brzeski (+200) (Heavyweight)
- Brunno Ferreira (-600) vs. Jackson McVey (+425) (Middleweight)
- Carli Judice (-400) vs. Nicolle Caliari (+310) (Women’s Flyweight)
Ticket presales for UFC Fight Club members began on Monday, May 12, at 3:00 AM EDT, followed by UFC Newsletter presales at 4:00 AM EDT. Public sales commenced on Tuesday, May 13, at 5:00 AM EDT (UFC.com).
Upcoming UFC Events Beyond 318
The UFC calendar remains packed with exciting matchups:
- UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. de Ridder on Saturday, July 26, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE (UFC.com, ESPN).
- UFC Fight Night: Albazi vs. Taira on Saturday, August 2, at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV (UFC.com, ESPN).
- UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Hernandez on Saturday, August 9, at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV (UFC.com, ESPN).
- UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev on Saturday, August 16, at United Center in Chicago, IL (UFC.com, ESPN).
- UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang on Saturday, August 23, at Shanghai Indoor Stadium in Xuhui District, China (UFC.com, ESPN).
- UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho on Saturday, September 6, at Accor Arena in Paris, France (UFC.com, ESPN).
- Noche UFC: Lopes vs. Silva on Saturday, September 13, at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX (UFC.com, ESPN).
Recent UFC Highlights
The UFC has delivered several memorable events recently, including UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Teixeira on July 12 in Nashville, TN, and UFC 317: Topuria vs. Oliveira on June 28 in Las Vegas, NV. Other notable recent cards include UFC Fight Night: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. in Baku, Azerbaijan (June 21), UFC Fight Night: Usman vs. Buckley in Atlanta, GA (June 14), and UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 in Newark, NJ (June 7) (ESPN).
Fans can stay updated and watch events via the UFC Mobile App, ESPN, ESPN+, and UFC Fight Pass (UFC.com).
