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The Hindu
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Dustin Poirier hopes to end career on high note in front of home crowd, faces Holloway at UFC 318
Louisiana native Dustin Poirier will get to fight one last time in the Octagon and this time it will be back in the Bayou State. Poirier will take on Max Holloway for the UFC BMF title on Saturday night in the headline fight of UFC 318 in the Smoothie King Center. UFC 318 features five main card fights and 14 overall fights as the combat sport makes its return to New Orleans for the first time since 2015. Poirier (30-9), a native of Lafayette, announced in April that his fight against Holloway (26-8) will be the last of his career and he plans to retire after the match. 'It's a little surreal,' Poirier said. 'All the pressure and obligations are still there and still thinking about all the fight stuff in my head. Every now and then though, it starts creeping into the back of my head that this is the last time I'm doing this. I don't come from a place with silver spoons and a lot of money. All the fights that I have had all over the world, a lot of people don't get to go. To be so close to home (for this final fight) where people can hop in their car and drive to New Orleans, to have people see me fight for this last fight that have never seen me fight in person before is super special.' The Holloway-Poirier main event will be the third time the two lightweights have faced off. Poirier won the first two fights, submitting Holloway in the first round in 2012 and winning a unanimous decision back in 2019. 'I'm expecting another war,' Poirier said. 'This is a trilogy spanning 13 years. Each fight has been so different. Max is a legend and has done incredible things in his career. Fighting him for my last fight seems poetic. I was his debut in the UFC and he is my last fight. Everything is happening at the right time.' The 36-year-old Poirier said he heads into the fight in arguably the best shape of his career. 'I'm 90-something days completely sober; no alcohol and no marijuana,' he said. 'For probably four, five months I have been eating kind of like a carnivore with just meat and berries and a little bit of vegetables here and there. I'm in the best shape, this is the lightest I have ever shown up to fight week. I did everything right.' Despite fighting in front of the home state crowd and having defeated Holloway in their previous two matchups, Poirier enters the fight as a +110 underdog, according to BetMGM. Holloway, who is looking to rebound from a first-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria last October, is defending his BMF title belt for the first time. FILE PHOTO: Ilia Topuria celebrates after defeating Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317. | Photo Credit: AP 'We both know what's at stake,' Holloway said. 'I'm here to play spoiler in this fight. I was 4-0 the first time I fought him and I was on a 13-fight winning streak the second time I fought him. He did me dirty, so I guess I got to do him dirty in his retirement fight. I can't wait to go out there Saturday night and show everyone what we have been working on.'
Fox Sports
6 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Dustin Poirier hopes to end career on high note in front of home crowd, faces Holloway at UFC 318
Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana native Dustin Poirier will get to fight one last time in the Octagon and this time it will be back in the Bayou State. Poirier will take on Max Holloway for the UFC BMF title Saturday night in the headline fight of UFC 318 in the Smoothie King Center. UFC 318 features five main card fights and 14 overall fights as the combat sport makes its return to New Orleans for the first time since 2015. Poirier (30-9), a native of Lafayette, announced in April that his fight against Holloway (26-8) will be the last of his career and he plans to retire after the match. 'It's a little surreal,' Poirier said. 'All the pressure and obligations are still there and still thinking about all the fight stuff in my head. Every now and then though, it starts creeping into the back of my head that this is the last time I'm doing this. 'I don't come from a place with silver spoons and a lot of money. All the fights that I have had all over the world, a lot of people don't get to go. To be so close to home (for this final fight) where people can hop in their car and drive to New Orleans, to have people see me fight for this last fight that have never seen me fight in person before is super special.' The Holloway-Poirier main event will be the third time the two lightweights have faced off. Poirier won the first two fights, submitting Holloway in the first round in 2012 and winning a unanimous decision back in 2019. 'I'm expecting another war,' Poirier said. 'This is a trilogy spanning 13 years. Each fight has been so different. Max is a legend and has done incredible things in his career. Fighting him for my last fight seems poetic. I was his debut in the UFC and he is my last fight. Everything is happening at the right time.' The 36-year-old Poirier said he heads into the fight in arguably the best shape of his career. 'I'm 90-something days completely sober; no alcohol and no marijuana,' he said. 'For probably four, five months I have been eating kind of like a carnivore with just meat and berries and a little bit of vegetables here and there. I'm in the best shape, this is the lightest I have ever shown up to fight week. I did everything right.' Despite fighting in front of the home state crowd and having defeated Holloway in their previous two matchups, Poirier enters the fight as a +110 underdog, according to BetMGM. Holloway, who is looking to rebound from a first-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria last October, is defending his BMF title belt for the first time. 'We both know what's at stake,' Holloway said. 'I'm here to play spoiler in this fight. "I was 4-0 the first time I fought him and I was on a 13-fight winning streak the second time I fought him. He did me dirty, so I guess I got to do him dirty in his retirement fight. I can't wait to go out there Saturday night and show everyone what we have been working on.' ___ AP sports:
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Dustin Poirier hopes to end career on high note in front of home crowd, faces Holloway at UFC 318
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana native Dustin Poirier will get to fight one last time in the Octagon and this time it will be back in the Bayou State. Poirier will take on Max Holloway for the UFC BMF title Saturday night in the headline fight of UFC 318 in the Smoothie King Center. UFC 318 features five main card fights and 14 overall fights as the combat sport makes its return to New Orleans for the first time since 2015. Poirier (30-9), a native of Lafayette, announced in April that his fight against Holloway (26-8) will be the last of his career and he plans to retire after the match. 'It's a little surreal,' Poirier said. 'All the pressure and obligations are still there and still thinking about all the fight stuff in my head. Every now and then though, it starts creeping into the back of my head that this is the last time I'm doing this. 'I don't come from a place with silver spoons and a lot of money. All the fights that I have had all over the world, a lot of people don't get to go. To be so close to home (for this final fight) where people can hop in their car and drive to New Orleans, to have people see me fight for this last fight that have never seen me fight in person before is super special.' The Holloway-Poirier main event will be the third time the two lightweights have faced off. Poirier won the first two fights, submitting Holloway in the first round in 2012 and winning a unanimous decision back in 2019. 'I'm expecting another war,' Poirier said. 'This is a trilogy spanning 13 years. Each fight has been so different. Max is a legend and has done incredible things in his career. Fighting him for my last fight seems poetic. I was his debut in the UFC and he is my last fight. Everything is happening at the right time.' The 36-year-old Poirier said he heads into the fight in arguably the best shape of his career. 'I'm 90-something days completely sober; no alcohol and no marijuana,' he said. 'For probably four, five months I have been eating kind of like a carnivore with just meat and berries and a little bit of vegetables here and there. I'm in the best shape, this is the lightest I have ever shown up to fight week. I did everything right.' Despite fighting in front of the home state crowd and having defeated Holloway in their previous two matchups, Poirier enters the fight as a +110 underdog, according to BetMGM. Holloway, who is looking to rebound from a first-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria last October, is defending his BMF title belt for the first time. 'We both know what's at stake,' Holloway said. 'I'm here to play spoiler in this fight. 'I was 4-0 the first time I fought him and I was on a 13-fight winning streak the second time I fought him. He did me dirty, so I guess I got to do him dirty in his retirement fight. I can't wait to go out there Saturday night and show everyone what we have been working on.' ___ AP sports:
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Dustin Poirier to close UFC career with Max Holloway trilogy title fight
Louisiana native Dustin Poirier is locked for a UFC BMF title fight in his home state to conclude his career, as New Orleans will host Poirier's battle with title-holder Max Holloway to highlight the July 19 card at the Smoothie King Center. This will be the third battle between the lightweight combatants, the 36-year-old Poirier, who hails from Lafayette, La., taking the first two contests. Both fighters are coming off losses in title fights, however. Poirier (30-9) submitted to Islam Makhachev last June, while the 33-year-old Holloway (26-8) lost in knockout fashion to Ilia Topuria in October. "For Dustin Poirier to be able to finish his remarkable UFC career in New Orleans is special," UFC executive vice president Peter Dropick said in a news release. "Thank you to the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, New Orleans & Company and Smoothie King Center for helping us make this happen. "It's been 10 years since we've held an event in New Orleans, we know the fans are ready for us to be back!" The Octagon will also play host to ranked middleweights No 10 Marvin Vettori (19-8-1) and No. 11 Brendan Allen (24-7), who will do battle for the first time in an official capacity at UFC 318. The two were slated to fight at UFC Vegas 90 last April, though Vettori pulled out. A few months later, the pair squared off (unofficially) in a brawl at a Florida casino. Their ranked billing remains hotly anticipated. The rest of the lineup includes newly announced fights between Kyler Phillips (12-3) and Vinicius Oliveira (22-3) at the bantamweight level, Jimmy Crute (12-4-2) facing Marcin Prachnio (17-8) in light heavyweight and Carli Judice (4-2) battling Nicolle Caliari (8-3) at women's fly. Other fights include: --No. 7 Amanda Ribas vs. No. 10 Tabatha Ricci in strawweight --Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson in welterweight --Adam Fuitt vs. Islam Dulatov in welterweight --Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira in middleweight --Field Level Media REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
