UFC 318 Fight Week: BMF title on the line, but Joe Rogan not commentating

UFC 318 marks the return of the sport to New Orleans for the first time in 10 years.

The 14-bout fight card is headlined by one of Louisiana’s own, Dustin Poirier, who’s competing for the final time in his storied mixed martial arts career as he takes on an old rival and fellow fan favourite in Max Holloway.

“I’m going to lay the gloves down in Louisiana, where it all started for me,” Lafayette’s Poirier said earlier this year when the matchup was announced. “There’s not a better guy I could think to fight in my retirement fight. He’s a legend, former (undisputed) champion, current BMF champion, so we’re going to put on another war.”

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Dustin Poirier will compete in his farewell fight against old rival Max Holloway for the BMF Title. Watch UFC 318 on Saturday, July 19 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.

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Poirier’s one requirement for his retirement bout was “legends only” and since Justin Gaethje was uninterested in completing a trilogy that would break their tie — Poirier finished Gaethje in 2018 and Gaethje finished Poirier in 2023 — Holloway stepped up to the plate in an attempt to get some redemption.

Holloway made his UFC debut in 2012 as a short-notice replacement opponent at UFC 143. He was the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at the time, only 20 years old, and was submitted in the opening round by a 23-year-old Poirier in a featherweight bout.

Seven years later, Holloway stepped in against Poirier as an injury replacement once again. The pair competed for an interim lightweight title, with Poirier getting his hand raised by decision after five hard rounds that earned both men a Fight of the Night bonus.

Fast forward another six years to the present, and Holloway has now had a full training camp to prepare as he looks to avoid going 0-3 against his rival, while Poirier aims to end his career on a winning note.

No fighter in UFC history that has lost two bouts to an opponent and fought them a third time has won the trilogy match, but that’s exactly what Holloway will attempt to do at UFC 318.

It’s actually a familiar spot for Holloway, who could become the first fighter in UFC history to be swept in two separate trilogies if he loses to Poirier this weekend.

Holloway previously went 0-3 — with three five-round decision losses — against Alexander Volkanovski during their featherweight title trilogy.

Other UFC trilogies that were completely one-sided in their results were Tito Ortiz defeating Ken Shamrock thrice all via technical knockout, and Frankie Edgar topping B.J. Penn twice by decision in lightweight title fights and another time by TKO in a non-title featherweight contest.

Also, Charles Oliveira finished Nick Lentz three times in the UFC, although the first of those Oliveira wins was later changed to a no-contest when it was ruled he landed an illegal knee on Lentz before locking in a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Even though both UFC 318 headliners are coming off losses, they were each against the elite of the elite in the sport.

Poirier’s most recent appearance was his Fight of the Night with Islam Makhachev at UFC 301 for the lightweight title 13-and-a-half months ago. Poirier pushed Makhachev to the limit, but was submitted midway through the final round.

Holloway, meanwhile, is moving back up to 155 pounds after losing to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 when the 145-pound title was on the line. Holloway was knocked out for the first time in his career that night nine months ago.

Topuria and Makhachev are the No. 1 and No. 2 fighters, respectively, on the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings list.

Holloway and Poirier have represented the BMF style of fighting all throughout their careers, so it’s fitting they’re starring in the main event Saturday at Smoothie King Center.

The last time Holloway competed at lightweight was arguably his best performance to date when he defeated Gaethje at UFC 300 last year with one of the most dramatic finishes to a UFC fight ever.

Holloway had schooled Gaethje for nearly five full rounds before getting a literal last-second knockout to earn the UFC’s BMF Title – the organization’s belt that is supposed to represent the “Baddest Mother(expletive) in the game” based on fighting style.

There have been three official BMF Title matchups to date: Jorge Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz at UFC 241 in 2019 to win the inaugural belt before later being stripped of it when he announced his retirement in 2023, then Gaethje knocked out Poirier with a head kick at UFC 291 two years ago before Holloway took the belt from Gaethje with that epic finish at UFC 300.

One notable absence in New Orleans will be Joe Rogan, who won’t be on the commentary team.

Rogan typically is cageside for U.S.-based pay-per-view events, but he will be replaced by Paul Felder this week. Felder will work alongside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier.

The last U.S.-based PPV card Rogan did not call was UFC 271 in in Houston in 2022 due to a scheduling conflict. It is unclear at the moment the specific reasons why Rogan won’t be doing commentary at UFC 318.

Here’s what else is happening during fight week…

Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter is on site in New Orleans, so stay tuned to Sportsnet.ca for exclusive content and one-on-one fighter interviews.

July 16, Media Day: Official media events begin Wednesday when participating athletes will speak with gathered reporters.

July 17, Pre-fight Press Conference: UFC 318 athletes will be on stage Thursday beginning at approximately 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT. This event will be available to stream live on Sportsnet+.

July 18, Ceremonial Weigh-in: Several hours after the official weigh-in wrap up, the fighters will face off with their respective opponents in front of cheering fans on the eve of the event. This will also be available to stream live on Sportsnet+ beginning at approximately 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.

Projected UFC 318 bout order below:

MAIN CARD

— Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier (five rounds for BMF Title)

— Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov

— Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez

— Dan Ige vs. Patrício Pitbull

— Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber

PRELIMINARY CARD

— Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira

— Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen

— Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov

— Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Robert Valentin