UFC 318 Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios Live Winners and Losers, Main Card Results
There were 14 fights on the card, but it was all about one.
Perennial fan favorite Dustin Poirier wanted to go home for his farewell and the UFC delivered, putting him in a main event against two-time rival Max Holloway before a partisan crowd at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Now 36, Poirier debuted with the promotion in 2011 and hit a series of high notes, beating Holloway in both 2012 and 2019 and taking the final two fights of a trilogy with Conor McGregor across six months in 2021.
He'd not fought since a submission loss to then-lightweight champ Islam Makhachev 13 months ago and not won since three months before that, when he finished a then-streaking Benoît Saint Denis at UFC 299 in Miami.
Holloway hadn't fought since he was TKO'd by then-featherweight king Ilia Topuria in October but he'd previously won three straight, including a memorable KO of Justin Gaethje for the company's popular BMF belt on the UFC 300 show.
The B/R combat team was in place to take in all the action and delivered a real-time list of the show's definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
Winner: Going Out in Style
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The UFC knew what it was doing when it matched Holloway with Poirier in the retiring Louisiana legend’s final fight.
Because the two are simply incapable of not delivering excitement.
The third-time rivals exchanged power blows and left visual damage on one another’s faces for 25 minutes before Holloway emerged with a wholly deserved unanimous decision in which two judges gave him four of five rounds and a third gave him three of five.
B/R’s card agreed with the majority and had it 4-1 for Holloway.
The win made the popular Hawaiian the first to defend the promotion’s BMF belt, but Holloway quickly ceded the post-fight stage to allow for a celebration of Poirier, who debuted as a pro at age 20, reached the UFC two years later, and went 21-9 in 30 fights.
“It’s been overwhelming,” Poirier said. “I feel appreciated. I feel seen. I’ve never got to look at it from the third person like I have this week. It’s been incredible. I’m forever grateful. This sport has taught me everything I know and I’m thankful I got to walk this walk.”
Holloway was consistently faster and sharper across each round, though Poirier did drop him with a right hand in the second and was still moving forward effectively in the fourth. The two went toe to toe in the final 10 seconds, which allowed Holloway to end with a combination-filled punctuation mark.
“This guy’s tough to deal with,” Poirier said. “He’s fast. He’s slick. He’s dangerous.”
Loser: Manny Fans
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New Orleans wasn’t the only place ruled by sentiment on Saturday night.
Recent Hall of Fame inductee Manny Pacquiao returned to the boxing ring for the first time in four years to chase another title belt at 147 pounds and it seemed he’d done enough to get the job done against Mario Barrios, but the judges disagreed.
Instead, the reigning WBC champ swept the final three rounds on all three scorecards to salvage a majority decision draw in which two judges saw it six rounds apiece and a third gave it to Barrios by a 7-5 margin.
The B/R card had the 46-year-old Pacquiao, who was aiming to become the first fighter to hold title belts in four decades, ahead by a 116-112 count, or 8-4 in rounds.
“I thought I won the fight. It was a close fight,” he said. “I tried to find a way to finish the fight, but my opponent was tough. It’s inspiration to old boxers. If you have discipline and hard work, you can still fight.”
Pacquiao said he’d continue to fight but didn’t mention any would-be opponents beyond a rematch with Barrios. There had been chatter during the week that a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. had been discussed, and analyst Chris Algieri said the Pacquiao camp would have targeted reigning lightweight champ Gervonta Davis had he won.
“I thought I pulled it out,” Barrios said. “It was an absolute honor to share the ring with him.”
Loser: Justifying Hype
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The jury remains out on Patricio Pitbull.
The 38-year-old Brazilian was a decorated commodity in the Bellator promotion, and his octagonal arrival was well-hyped but ultimately disappointing after a sleepwalk of a three-round loss to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314 in April.
Saturday’s result was better given his decision victory over popular veteran Dan Ige, but their 15 minutes together were disrupted by loud boos from a crowd far more accustomed to barnburners involving a fighter nicknamed “50-K.”
All three judges gave it to Pitbull by 29-28 scores, matching the B/R card.
Pitbull’s approach was violent in spots—yielding a knockdown from a right hand in Round 2 and five takedowns overall—but it was just as often marked by maddeningly long stretches in which he seemed to contemplate attacks without following through on them.
He landed 47 significant strikes to Ige’s 45 and those five takedowns were the only ones of the fight, but it wasn’t sufficient to leave analyst Daniel Cormier clamoring for more.
“I didn’t follow his career in Bellator all that closely,” he said. “He just doesn’t seem to be a guy that does enough.”
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Winner: Continuing Competition
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The resume is impressive enough. But Michael Johnson is clearly not content to rest on laurels that include defeats of Poirier and Tony Ferguson.
The 39-year-old issued another reminder that he remains relevant and dangerous to wannabe prospects at 155 pounds by winning a narrow but unanimous decision over 26-year-old Daniel Zellhuber in the main-card opener.
Johnson was the biggest underdog on the show at +500 but he didn’t fight like it, consistently landing punches to his opponent’s body and head while effectively defending, for the most part, Zellhuber’s hard kicks to the body and head.
The old man scored the fight’s biggest blow two minutes into the second round when he countered a right hand with a right-left combo of his own, the second of which landed flush and dropped Zellhuber to his back.
A follow-up volley of ground strikes was ineffective, but Johnson maintained his superior speed and volume enough to earn 29-28 verdicts from all three judges. The B/R card shaded it in the other direction, giving Zellhuber the first and third rounds.
“A decision? Michael Johnson won a decision? No way they gave it to me,” said Johnson, who’d lost seven times on the scorecards since his UFC debut in 2010. “He just ate a piece of humble pie. I just taught the young buck a lesson.”
Loser: Inviting Attack
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The lesson to Robert Valentin is clear.
Sometimes you need to be careful what you ask for.
The Swiss middleweight was already in tough against streaking prospect Ateba Gautier when he was clipped by a left hook that left him backed up against the fence.
But instead of bobbing, weaving, moving, or otherwise trying to elude further damage from the onrushing Cameroonian, Valentin chose to stand straight up and wave his opponent on, inviting the onslaught to continue, which it did.
Gautier accepted the invitation and continued to strafe Valentin with every manner of punch, landing straight shots, hooks and uppercuts as Valentin reeled and ultimately collapsed to his knees, where referee Herb Dean intervened after just 70 seconds.
It was a third loss in three UFC appearances for Valentin, while Gautier won his seventh straight overall and second in a row since winning on the Contender Series in 2024.
“The only way to survive against me is you have to run. He didn’t run enough,” Gautier said. “My coach said you don’t have to force it, just take your time and it will come.”
Winner: Attractive Aggression
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Whaddya know? He’s not just a pretty boy, after all.
German-based welterweight Islam Dulatov made a successful UFC debut and maintained his lucrative side hustle, too, thanks to a first-round KO of Adam Fugitt.
Because Dulatov was barely struck and sustained no damage, it won’t have an impact on his gig as a model, which he’ll resume with a GQ photo shoot on Monday.
He’s done previous work for the Hugo Boss, Prada, Gucci and Versace brands, and has already purchased two Lamborghinis at age 26.
“I look good guys. What do you think?” Dulatov asked the crowd after the finish, which came at 4:06. “So, I think I can do that show.”
His fight job was cut short thanks to the check left hook he landed on Fugitt’s chin that sent the American staggering to his back. Dulatov pounced from there and landed three quick unfettered ground strikes before referee Mike Beltran could intervene.
“I always go for a KO. Twelve fights, 12 finishes, baby. And here we are,” he said. “My corner told me, ‘Wait for it, and if he comes in you check him.’”
Winner: Hunting Arms
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Left arms are not supposed to bend the way Marcin Prachnio’s did.
The Polish light heavyweight was in danger after he went to the ground with Australian grappling ace Jimmy Crute, and it wasn’t long before Crute seized the appendage and began torquing it in ways that made even the heartiest viewer cringe.
Prachnio spun, somersaulted and kicked his way toward an escape but he was unable to relieve the pressure on the elbow before ultimately tapping at 4:42 of the first round.
It was the 37-year-old’s third straight loss by submission with the other two having come by arm triangle chokes. Meanwhile, Crute earned his fifth career submission victory, all having to do with arms, including two by kimura, one by arm triangle and now two by armbar.
And no, he didn’t feel bad that he may have had to injure his foe to secure a win, which he did for the first time since 2020 after three losses and two draws in five fights.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world in here,” Crute said. “If you don’t get, you get got.”
Loser: Saving Status
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Lukasz Brzeski was not trending well.
The 33-year-old Polish heavyweight arrived to the promotion after a no-contest on the Contender Series in 2021 and had proceeded to lose five of six fights, picking up the three most recent losses by KOs.
So, to say there was some urgency when he faced Ryan Spann on Saturday’s early prelim card was something of an understatement, a reality backed by the broadcast team.
Well, let’s just say it’s gotten a bit more intense.
Rather than circling the wagons for a career-reviving victory, Brzeski instead experienced more of the same when he failed to last a full round before submitting to a guillotine choke at 2:47 of the first.
It was Spann’s 14th submission in 23 career wins and the fifth time Brzeski has failed to hear a final horn in seven career losses, which doesn’t bode well for his UFC future given that he’d already been on the verge of a loss via arm triangle before the guillotine.
“He’s got to see that coming,” analyst Daniel Cormier said. “He’s got to be better than that.”
Winner: Breaking Character
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It’s no surprise that Brunno Ferreira had been typecast.
The muscular Brazilian middleweight arrived to the UFC on the strength of three straight KO victories and earned his first four wins in the promotion—one on the Contender Series and three more in traditional octagonal bouts—by the same method.
But he’s more than happy to show some other chops, too.
The 32-year-old earned his second straight victory by submission when he seized Jackson McVey’s left arm and prompted his previously unbeaten opponent to surrender by armbar at 3:35 of the opening round.
It was his fifth straight win by finish—tying Jean Silva for the most in the promotion since 2023—and his second in a row by armbar after he’d gotten Armen Petrosyan to tap out in Round 2 at UFC 313 in March.
“I put on my black belt for you guys to see,” said Ferreira, whose barrel-chested build earned him a “Hulk” nickname. “That’s my position. As soon I got that arm, my corner was yelling, ‘That’s yours.’”
Winner: Louisiana Heat
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It’s a card constructed for another hometown hero.
But Carli Judice decided she wanted a piece of the action, too.
The flyweight arrived from a couple of hours east in Lafayette, but she performed as if she were in her backyard on the way to a third-round TKO of Nicole Caliari.
Judice battered Caliari and imposed some gnarly facial damage through the first two rounds, but the finisher came via another method—a left knee delivered to Caliari’s exposed body—to end matters at 1:30 of the final round.
“Your body can take a lot of punishment over a lot of time,” analyst Paul Felder said, “but one thing you can’t take, I don’t care who you are, is a perfectly placed liver shot.”
Caliari became the first woman in UFC history to end fights by both a knee strike and a kick, and she said the body blow was the result of repetition in the gym.
“I landed it against so many of my training partners,” she said, “so if I didn’t land it in the fight I was going to feel bad for all of them.”
Full Card Results
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Main Card
Max Holloway def. Dustin Poirier by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Paulo Costa def. Roman Kopylov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Patricio Pitbull def. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Michael Johnson def. Daniel Zellhuber by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Vinicius Oliveira def. Kyler Phillips by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brendan Allen def. Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Nikolay Veretennikov def. Francisco Prado by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Ateba Gautier def. Robert Valentin by TKO (punch), 1:10, Round 1
Early Preliminary Card
Adam Fugitt v Islam Dulatov by KO (punch), 4:06, Round 1
Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio by submission (armbar), 4:42, Round 1
Ryan Spann def. Lukasz Brzeski by submission (guillotine choke), 2:47, Round 1
Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey by submission (armbar), 3:35, Round 1
Carli Judice def. Nicolle Caliari by TKO (knee), 1:30, Round 3
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