Max Holloway-Dustin Poirier Trilogy for ‘BMF’ Belt Official at UFC 318 in July

WHO WILL BE THE BADDEST OF THEM ALL???

The hometown kid @DustinPoirier challenges @BlessedMMA for the BMF belt in his final trip to the Octagon!#UFC318 | @GNOSports | Learn More: https://t.co/GUdzvfNyaj pic.twitter.com/fDnILvrVwW

— UFC (@ufc) April 25, 2025

Two of the most beloved Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters will run it back one more time.

The trilogy bout for Max Holloway (26-8) and Dustin Poirier (30-9, 1 NC) is on the books for UFC 318 on July 19. The two lightweights will collide for Holloway’s symbolic “BMF” belt, a title not currently connected to actual championship accolades. This event will also serve as the promotion’s return to “The Big Easy” for the first time in over a decade, with Tim Boetsch and Dan Henderson duking it out in New Orleans' Smoothie King Center back in June 2015. Of note, Poirier won by knockout on that fight card.

Over the last several years, Holloway has excelled against competition not named Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria. With the former, the Hawaiian lost three times for the undisputed featherweight strap to Volkanovski. Although he tried to get it back in a vacant championship match with Topuria, the Spaniard knocked him out cold for the first time ever.

Poirier first announced the news of this match, one that for now is serving also as his retirement bout, on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday. The promotion promptly formalized the announcement shortly thereafter. The Louisiana native has alternated wins and losses in his last six walks to the cage, with triumphs over Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler and Benoit St. Denis opposite stoppages to Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Islam Makhachev.

The two first tangled in Holloway’s UFC debut at UFC 143 in 2012. The youngster fell victim to a triangle armbar from the more-experienced Poirier. Seven years and a weight class later—the first fight took place at 145 pounds, while the second and this upcoming bout are at lightweight—the two ran it back. This time, Holloway reached the final horn, losing a nailbiter on the scorecards having actually landed more frequently than Poirier in their 25-minute battle. Holloway claimed the “BMF” belt against Gaethje in April 2024, and even though he lost to Topuria, he will still have it on the line against Poirier.