Holloway retains BMF title as Poirier retires
Holloway's volume of strikes helped him win an entertaining contest by unanimous decision as he became the first fighter to defend the belt awarded to the UFC's "baddest".
Afterwards Holloway called out lightweight champion Ilia Topuria before paying tribute to fellow American Poirier.
"I've got some history with the champ. UFC, it's your move next, baby, but I'm done talking," said Holloway.
"This is Dustin's retirement fight - give it up to my man."
Former interim lightweight champion Poirier, 36, retires as one of the most respected athletes to step foot inside the octagon.
After making his UFC debut in 2011, Poirier won 22 of 32 fights and retires as arguably the best fighter to never win an undisputed title.
"I'm grateful for this experience and journey. I want to thank (UFC president) Dana White and the UFC for giving a kid a platform to make something of his life, to help keep my family is a safe place," said an emotional Poirier.
"I'm forever in debt to the company and mixed martial arts. It's taught me everything I know and I'm just thankful I got to walk this walk."
Holloway beats Poirier at third attempt
The bout concludes the pair's epic rivalry after Poirier's victories in 2012 and 2019.
After suffering defeat for the lightweight title in his most recent fight against Islam Makhachev in 2024, Poirier said Holloway would be his final bout.
Poirier, accompanied by rapper Lil Wayne, was greeted by a rousing reception in front of his home crowd as he skipped his way towards the octagon.
Holloway - as he called for before the fight out of respect to Poirier - was booed on his walkout, before making a fast start when the fight got under way.
After mixing up his leg strikes and punches well, Holloway dropped Poirier with a straight right in a confident first round.
Holloway remained in control in the second round as he knocked Poirier down again, before the momentum shifted.
With seconds of the round remaining, Poirier landed a one-two punch combination which dropped Holloway, before the bell saved him from more damage on the ground.
The action continued to go back and forth - Holloway landed longer combinations but Poirier's strikes appeared more damaging - before the crowd rose to their feet in anticipation of the final round.
With 10 seconds to go Holloway pointed to the ground in trademark fashion, inviting the pair to stand and trade.
Holloway knocked Justin Gaethje out in similar fashion last year and, although he got the better of the exciting exchange, Poirier survived until the final bell.
The pair embraced in respect as Holloway kissed Poirier on the forehead before sharing a few words.
"Max is tough to deal with in here. He's slick; he's crafty; he's fast; he's the champ. I got nothing but respect for Max - he's one of the good guys," said Poirier.
"I've been chasing my dreams - it's been incredible. I'm a kid living his dream out here, throwing punches, throwing knees. It's incredible."
Poirier's win over Holloway in 2019 for the interim lightweight belt remains the only UFC championship he won.
He lost three undisputed title fights - against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira and Makhachev - but retires with a glittering resume regardless.
He got the better of his trilogy with Conor McGregor - he is the only fighter to knock him out, in 2021 - and has iconic victories over Dan Hooker, Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez.
'Truly one of the greatest' - what fighters said
Islam Makhachev on X: "Congratulations, Dustin. You're truly one of the greatest to ever step into the cage. It was an honor and a privilege to share it with you."
Jorge Masvidal on X: "Congrats on an awesome career Dustin! It's been great sharing this journey with you. Thanks for all the good times and everything you brought to the team. Enjoy retirement, you've more than earned it."
Jon Jones on X: "I thought Dustin's performance was amazing. He definitely still has it. But it's good to see him walk away just because he wants to. That needs to become normalised in the future. Sick of fighters getting to the point of mumbling."
Belal Muhammad on X: "Paid in full. Dustin is a legend. Amazing career."
MMA schedule and results 2025
Watch every Born to Brawl episode
More MMA from the BBC
Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Iowa football QB entrenched in position battle after big quarterback domino falls
With the transfer portal constantly in flux and players now circumventing the portal by becoming a walk-on, quarterbacks are shuffling faster than a three-step dropback. The latest quarterback domino to fall is former BYU QB Jake Retzlaff joining Tulane as a walk-on. By withdrawing from school, he could walk-on at a new program without penalty. This route allows Retzlaff to bypass the transfer portal and join a new program. Retzlaff joins Tulane's QB room, which is also accompanied by former Iowa Hawkeyes and Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Brendan Sullivan. The addition of Retzlaff now entrenches Sullivan in yet another topsy-turvy quarterback room, rather similar to his final year at Iowa, when he took over for Cade McNamara. Jake Retzlaff withdrew from school at BYU just over a week ago amid honor code violations that would have led to a suspension. The suspension was stemming from a civil suit for sexual assault. The lawsuit has since been dismissed. While at BYU, Retzlaff threw for 3,595 passing yards and 23 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Brendan Sullivan, who spent two years at Northwestern, followed by 2024 at Iowa, has thrown for 1,778 yards, 13 TD, and 8 INT during his collegiate career. He has added 407 rushing yards and 7 rushing TDs. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7 This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Former Iowa QB entrenched in new quarterback position battle at Tulane
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Woodstock '99 riots: Photos show how festival devolved into violent chaos, destruction
Woodstock '99 veered sharply from the "peace and love" vibes of 1969 to chaos and destruction. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Sygma via Getty Images) In an effort to recreate the 'peace and love' vibes of the iconic 1969 Woodstock music festival, concert organizers chose to celebrate the event's 30th anniversary with Woodstock '99. The four-day festival, which ran from July 22 to 25, 1999 at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y., featured a lineup of artists including Limp Bizkit, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and more. The event, however, devolved over the course of four days into overcrowding, fires, sexual assaults, violent mayhem and destruction. More than 200,000 people reportedly had bought tickets to the event, which was set mostly on asphalt and concrete during peak summer heat with two stages set a two-mile walk from each other. Add to that overpriced water and food, and whatever decorum and goodwill existed in the beginning took a nosedive into the festival's proverbial mosh pit. The festival's final day, called 'the day the music died' by the San Francisco Examiner and 'Apocalypse Woodstock' by MTV News, appeared to suffer from similar issues as its chaotic 1994 iteration, reportedly due to multiple factors, including the bands that turned up the spectacle several notches: Kid Rock asked the audience to throw plastic water bottles onstage, Insane Clown Posse threw $100 bills into the crowd and the Red Hot Chili Peppers covered Jimi Hendrix's song 'Fire,' apparently inspiring the crowd to commit arson and light up the venue. Advertisement Two documentaries released in recent years — Woodstock '99: Peace, Love, and Rage and Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 — spotlighted the chaos and violence of the festival. Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst brings his performance to the crowd at Woodstock '99 in Rome, N.Y. (Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect) Chad Smith, the Chili Peppers' drummer, told Yahoo Entertainment in 2019 that his band's role in the chaos was unintentional. '[Hendrix's] sister came to us, and we'd met her before; we'd done some other stuff with the Hendrix Experience,' Smith said. 'And she said, 'Hey, I know you guys do Jimi Hendrix songs. What do you think if I could get a Hendrix song before, like as your last song before the tribute thing, you know? It'd be kind of a nice segue.' And we're like, 'OK, that sounds cool.'' During the band's performance on the festival's final night, anti-violence group PAX had distributed 100,000 candles to fans. Instead of a peaceful lighting ceremony, the moment sparked bonfires and blazes, eventually leading to rioting and looting. Advertisement Law enforcement was called in to deal with the chaos. However, the band kept playing, with Smith telling Yahoo Entertainment that they misjudged the scope of the arson. And instead of leaving the stage, the Red Hot Chili Peppers proceeded with their Hendrix cover, inadvertently adding musical fuel to the literal fire. 'The next morning, I get up, I'm in the airport, and I'm looking up at CNN or whatever the news that's on the airport television,' Smith said. 'They're like, 'Yesterday's Woodstock festival, they had the Dave Matthews Band and Jewel, and it was all really nice. And then… the Red Hot Chili Peppers played, and all hell broke loose!' And I'm like, 'What?' And they show the fires, and I am like, 'Oh my God. Oh s***.' We really looked like we were instigating — that we were the bad guys.' The promoters reportedly faced multiple lawsuits after the festival. And while the concerts' organizer, the late Michael Lang, entertained the notion of recreating the spectacle once again in 2019, according to Esquire, the festival was ultimately canceled altogether. Here are more photos from Woodstock '99 as the event devolved into chaos and destruction. Fans of Limp Bizkit commandeer the stage at Woodstock '99. (Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect via Getty Images) A concert fan is shown rising above the crowd at Woodstock '99 on July 24, 1999. () Kid Rock asked the crowd to throw plastic water bottles onstage during his performance at Woodstock '99. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage via Getty Images) Festivalgoers made their way among the trash at Woodstock '99. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Sygma via Getty Images) Advertisement Attendees pitched tents at Woodstock '99. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Sygma via Getty Images) The crowd was sprayed with water during Woodstock '99. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage via Getty Images) Some festivalgoers covered themselves in mud at Woodstock '99. (Henry Diltz/Corbis via Getty Images) Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (Michael Balzary) opted to perform without clothes on the final day of Woodstock '99. (Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect via Getty Images) Advertisement Festival attendees lit huge fires during Woodstock '99. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Sygma via Getty Images) Festivalgoers flung anything they could find into the fires. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Sygma via Getty Images)
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
FOX Sports and AEG Announce Official Dates for the 2026 College Basketball Crown With Elite Eight-Team Field
Tournament to air on FOX and FS1 from April 1–5 in Las Vegas LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following a hugely successful inaugural tournament, FOX Sports and AEG today announced the official dates for the 2026 College Basketball Crown. The elite post-season college hoops tournament delivered compelling matchups, impressive viewership and a captivating championship run by Nebraska – becoming a must-see competition showcasing elite programs that narrowly miss NCAA Tournament selection. In 2026, the College Basketball Crown will take place April 1–5 at both the MGM Grand Garden Arena as well as T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and air on FOX and FS1. Year two features a newly streamlined eight-team field and continued support from its first-year brand partners. The 2026 field will feature the top two teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, and BIG EAST conferences that do not receive NCAA Tournament bids, plus two wild card teams selected by committee. The 2026 College Basketball Crown quarterfinals will take place Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, with T-Mobile Arena hosting the semifinals Saturday, April 4 and the championship matchup Sunday, April 5. "We launched the College Basketball Crown to create more opportunities for elite competition during the thrilling college basketball post-season – and we saw an incredible response from fans, conferences, and players for the inaugural tournament," said Jordan Bazant, Executive Vice President, FOX Sports, and board member of the College Basketball Crown. "We look forward to building on that momentum this spring by delivering high stakes matchups between top teams throughout the competition on FOX and FS1." The new eight-team format reflects a strategic refinement, designed to deliver stronger matchups, enhanced fan experiences, and continued commercial success across every stage of the tournament. "The College Basketball Crown has already proven to be a premium, athlete-first post-season platform that delivers for schools, our brand partners, and fans," said Nick Baker, President and COO of AEG Global Partnerships and board member of the College Basketball Crown. "We're proud to continue this tournament alongside FOX Sports and our partners and we look forward to raising the bar once again in 2026 with top-tier talent, world-class venues, and continued innovation." Additionally, inaugural-year partners are continuing their support for the 2026 tournament, including: Vivid Seats – Official Ticketing Provider GHOST® – Founding Partner and Official Energy Drink and Hydration Partner JSX – Founding Partner and Official Air Carrier Circa Resort & Casino – Founding Partner and Official Host Hotel MGM Resorts International – Official Partner The College Basketball Crown also continues to drive innovation in name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities for student-athletes, with new enhancements expected to be announced in the lead-up to next year's tournament. Additional announcements regarding ticket sales, broadcast talent, new partners, team selection and more will follow in the coming months. For more information on the College Basketball Crown, visit: ABOUT THE COLLEGE BASKETBALL CROWN Launched by FOX Sports and AEG, the College Basketball Crown is a premier post-season college basketball tournament that debuted in March 2025 in Las Vegas at MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena. Featuring elite teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, and additional at-large participants, the tournament offers a new and highly competitive post-season opportunity for student-athletes and fans alike. Key partners of the inaugural College Basketball Crown include: Vivid Seats – Official Ticketing Provider GHOST® – Founding Partner; Official Energy Drink and Hydration Partner JSX – Founding Partner; Official Air Carrier Circa Resort & Casino – Founding Partner; Official Host Hotel MGM Resorts International – Official Partner For more information on the College Basketball Crown, visit: About AEG Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, AEG is the world's leading sports and live entertainment company. The company operates in the following business segments: Music through AEG Presents, which is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performances, including the production and promotion of global and regional concert tours, an extensive portfolio of clubs, theaters and other music venues, concerts and special events and world-renowned festivals such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival; Venues and Real Estate, which develops, owns and operates world-class venues, as well as major sports and entertainment districts like Arena and L.A. LIVE, Uber Platz in Berlin and The O2 in London; Sports, as the world's largest operator of high-profile sporting events and sports franchises including the LA Kings, LA Galaxy and Eisbären Berlin; Global Partnerships, which oversees worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships including naming rights, premium seating, and other strategic partnerships. And Ticketing, through its ticketing platform, which provides more than 400 clients worldwide with ticketing services that cover the gamut of entertainments, including sporting events, arena tours, music clubs, festivals, rodeos and family events. Through its worldwide network of venues, portfolio of powerful sports and music brands and its integrated entertainment districts, AEG entertains more than 90 million guests annually. More information about AEG can be found at About FOX Sports FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing Fox Corporation's wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, the business has ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing relationships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Network; FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes. FOX Sports' digital properties include and the FOX Sports App, which provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content, instant scores, stats and alerts to iOS and Android devices. Also included in FOX Sports' portfolio are FOX's interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and the UFL and a licensing agreement that established the FOX Sports Radio Network. T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena, the 20,000-seat venue located on the Las Vegas Strip between Park MGM and New York-New York, opened April 6, 2016. The arena hosts more than 100 events annually including major headline entertainment, awards shows, UFC, boxing, basketball and other sporting events, family shows and special events. T-Mobile Arena also is the home of the Vegas Golden Knights, a National Hockey League expansion team and the city's first professional sports team, as well as UFC's exclusive Las Vegas arena destination. The venue, named the No. 1 venue on Billboard Magazine's 2018 Arena Power List as well as the "Best New Major Concert Venue" by Pollstar Magazine in 2016, features 50 luxury suites, more than two dozen private loge boxes, complete broadcast facilities, and other specially designed exclusive hospitality offerings and fan amenities destined to create a guest experience second to none. Toshiba Plaza, an adjacent two-acre outdoor entertainment space, features performance stages, a variety of video screens and other interactive content and display areas. Designed and built to prioritize environmental sustainability, T-Mobile Arena was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2016. T-Mobile Arena is a privately funded joint venture between AEG and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM). For more information, visit or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, U2, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also has been home to annual events including the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Latin GRAMMY Awards, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Pac-12 Men's Basketball Championship and Frozen Fury NHL pre-season games hosted by the Los Angeles Kings. View source version on Contacts Media Contacts Michael Roth, AEGmroth@ Shannon Donnelly, AEG Global Anne Pennington, FOX Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
