UFC 318 on Saturday night was another record-breaking event for Dana White’s promotion.
The New Orleans card witnessed Dustin Poirier, 36, contest his final MMA bout against Max Holloway, with over 18,000 fans in attendance and a record-breaking live gate.
Holloway outpointed Poirier after five rounds to score a unanimous decision win as ‘The Diamond’ laid down his gloves to signal his retirement from the sport.
The entire card was built around Poirier’s MMA farewell and certainly lived up to expectations for UFC CEO White.
UFC 318 took place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, as Poirier had requested he finish his career in the place where it all began.
It attracted a live gate of $8,088,122 (£6,002,139), which made it the highest-grossing event in the venues’ history, according to Fox 8 Live.
The event was also completely sold out as 18,138 fans packed into the New Orleans arena.
White confirmed his desire to return to Louisiana as soon as possible in his post-fight press conference, as it had been the first time in more than a decade his promotion had held an event there.
Tourism officials said UFC 318 provided a major economic boost to the city, so they would be more than happy to welcome White back.
Poirier had his moments against Holloway, as both men exchanged knockdowns in the opening rounds.
However, it was Holloway who got the better of Poirier, bettering his opponent on the feet over the distance to exact revenge on his previous two defeats to ‘The Diamond’.
Holloway retained his BMF title in the process and called out UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria for a rematch during his post-fight interview.
‘Blessed’ already holds multiple UFC records, including the most significant strikes (3,655) in the company’s history, and he’s now closing in on new ones after defeating Poirier.
His total fight time of 8:27:43 in the UFC is the second-most behind Rafael dos Anjos (8:43:19), meaning one more five-round fight would place him in a league of his own.
‘Blessed’ is also second for the most victories (23) in White’s promotion, placing him alongside Charles Oliveira, Andrei Arlovski and Donald Cerrone in the UFC record books, and just four off tying MMA icon Jim Miller.
He has four wins in his last five bouts, having suffered the first knockout defeat of his career to Topuria ahead of the bout.
Both men met at UFC 308 in October, and Topuria, who has since knocked out Oliveira, retained his belt by flooring Holloway in the third round of their main event clash.
‘El Matador’ is expected to defend the belt at 155 pounds against Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, or Paddy Pimblett next.
UFC 318
Record shattered
- Highest-grossing event in Smoothie King Center’s history
- $8,088,122 (£6,002,139) in ticket sales
- 18,138 fans
However, Holloway has thrust his name straight back into title contention after his victory at UFC 318.
White even said during UFC 318’s post-fight press conference that his BMF champion was in a ‘great position’ to contend for lightweight gold soon.