Dustin Poirier Retirement Fight vs. Max Holloway Announced for UFC 318 Card

Dustin Poirier announced Friday that he will compete in the final fight of his career at UFC 318 in July.

Poirier noted during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that he will face Max Holloway for a third time with Holloway's symbolic BMF title on the line.

The card, which is set for July 19, will take place in New Orleans, which is just two hours away from Poirier's hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Poirier, 36, has been among the top UFC fighters of the past several years, beating big names such as Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Dan Hooker and Holloway.

However, his more recent fights have been a struggle, losing three of his past five outings to the likes of Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.

Poirier became a pro MMA fighter in 2009 and joined UFC in 2011. Over the course of his 16-year career, he has compiled an impressive record of 30-9 with one no contest.

Although Poirier fell short in UFC lightweight title fights against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Oliveira and Makhachev, he did hold the interim UFC lightweight title for a time in 2019.

He is perhaps best known for beating McGregor by technical knockout in back-to-back fights in 2021, but Holloway is arguably Poirier's greatest opponent and rival.

They first met in 2012 at UFC 143 with Poirier winning by first-round submission. Their second bout was far more competitive, as they went the distance UFC 236 in 2019 and Poirier won by unanimous decision.

Holloway, 33, has had an excellent career in his own right, posting a record of 26-8 with 12 wins by way of knockout.

A former UFC featherweight champion, Holloway has won three of his past four fights and five of his past seven, although he is coming off a loss.

At UFC 308 back in October, Ilia Topuria knocked Holloway out in the third round of a featherweight title bout.

Because of that, Poirier and Holloway essentially enter their fight on equal footing, which should make for a competitive and entertaining final bout of Poirier's career.