UFC 318’s Max Holloway hopes New Orleans crowd boos him ‘out of the building’ - ‘I gotta do him dirty’

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“Blessed” wants to be a villain.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) legends Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier collide for the third time at UFC 318 this weekend (Sat., July 19, 2025) inside Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA, battling for the ‘Baddest Motherf—ker’ (BMF) title.

This weekend will celebrate Poirier’s storied Octagon career, and the two fighters are likely to beat the life out of each other. Yet fan-favorite Holloway is hoping for a chorus of boos—something rare for him.

“At the end of the day, when we go out there to do the walks, I was telling Daniel Cormier, ‘I hope my ass gets booed,’” Holloway told reporters during UFC 318 media day (watch here). “This is his last dance, and he’s representing his home state—boo my ass. Because if we were in Hawaii, I’m pretty sure the Hawaiians would boo whoever I’m fighting against.”

“It is what it is; I want to play spoiler. That’s what I do,” Holloway added. “It sucks because it’s him, but like I said before, I was 4-0 when I fought this man, on a 13-fight winning streak the last time. He did me dirty, so I guess I gotta do him dirty in his retirement fight.”

Holloway seeks revenge for Poirier’s two prior victories over him. As he put it during the UFC 318 countdown: “Dustin took my undefeated record. He took my 13-fight win streak. I’m gonna take his retirement fight.”

LIVE! Watch UFC 318 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

LEGENDARY TRILOGY / BMF SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., July 19, 2025, with a thrilling trilogy set to headline UFC 318 from inside Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. In UFC 318’s PPV main event, Max Holloway defends his BMF title against former interim Lightweight champion (and No. 3-ranked contender), Dustin Poirier, in a high-stakes, five-round clash that will mark the final fight for “The Diamond” before he retires from the sport. UFC 318’s PPV co-main event features Middleweight contenders Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov in a pivotal 185-pound bout rescheduled from UFC 317. UFC 318 will also showcase a Welterweight clash between Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez, a Featherweight showdown pitting Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull, a Lightweight bout featuring Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber and much more! UFC 318’s start time is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. ET (“Early Prelims”), 8 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 318 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

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