Holloway was arguably the most appropriate choice for Poirier's retirement fight. Holloway made his UFC debut against Poirier in 2012, and they fought for the interim lightweight title in 2019. By winning, Holloway redeemed his two prior losses to Poirier.

Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier fought hard in his final UFC fight against Max Holloway, but ultimately lost the BMF championship by unanimous decision, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd at Smoothie King Center.

After losing the first pair of meetings in February 2012 and April 2019, Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) was determined not to let Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) sweep their series in his exit from the sport on Saturday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

ESPN MMA reporter Brett Okamoto plays matchmaker and predicts the next move for Max Holloway and other stars from UFC 318.

SportsLine's Daniel Vithlani reveals his picks for the UFC 318 fight card from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday

UFC 318 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN2/ESPN+) takes place Saturday, and you can join us for live round-by-round coverage and official results beginning at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT). UFC 318 takes place at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.