5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 318
Max Holloway was the first to admit he didn't exactly relish the idea of spoiling Dustin Poirier's final fight.
Yet after doing precisely that with a unanimous-decision win in the main event of Saturday's UFC 318 card in New Orleans, the former featherweight champ is closing in on the chance to fight for lightweight gold.
The big question is whether he walks right into a title tilt with new lightweight champ Ilia Topuria, or if he'll need one more win to clinch that opportunity.
It will also be interesting to see what the future holds for former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa, who defeated Roman Kopylov in the UFC 318 co-main event.
It was a sorely needed victory for the Brazilian, who entered the fight with an ugly 1-4 record dating back to 2020. In fact, it mostly likely saved him from losing his spot in the division's top 15.
Outside the top two fights on the bill, the biggest winner at UFC 318 may have been hot-and-cold welterweight veteran Daniel Rodriguez, who picked up a surprising decision victory over versatile finisher Kevin Holland.
Former Bellator champ Patricio "Pitbull" Freire also picked up a huge win in New Orleans, defeating Dan Ige by decision for his first UFC win, as did lightweight veteran Michael Johnson, who turned back the clock with a decision win over Daniel Zellhuber.
Here are the fights we're hoping to see next for Holloway, Costa, Rodriguez, Pitbull and Johnson when the dust has settled.
Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira II
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After beating Dustin Poirier at UFC 318, Max Holloway wants a rematch with new lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, to whom he suffered a knockout loss in a featherweight title fight last year.
While he is definitely one of the most deserving contenders for that opportunity—certainly more so than Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett—it's hard to imagine he'll get the chance so soon after losing to the champ in a different division.
If Holloway can pick up one more high-profile win, though, he'll be nearly impossible to deny. Let's give him that opportunity against former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira.
Holloway has some history with the Brazilian. They first met in 2015. The American won the fight by first-round stoppage, but the finish was extremely bizarre, as Oliveira suffered a microtear of his esophagus after absorbing a punch.
A decade later, when both men have enjoyed incredible reigns as UFC champions, it's a great time to have them run it back in hopes of a more decisive outcome.
Granted, Oliveira's recent knockout loss to Topuria means the rematch will have a little less sizzle than it otherwise might, but it's still an excellent fight, and the best choice for Holloway if a title shot isn't next.
Paulo Costa vs. Brendan Allen
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Paulo Costa has had such poor results over the last five years that one could be forgiven for not believing he once challenged for the UFC middleweight title with an undefeated record.
His UFC 318 win over Roman Kopylov was nowhere near enough to put him back in title contention, but it will at least keep him in his division's top 15.
From here, we'd like to see the Brazilian take on Brendan Allen, who was also back in action at UFC 318, taking on Italy's Marvin Vettori in an undercard grudge match.
The Louisianan ended up winning by decision in a Fight of the Night-winning scrap, rebounding from losses to Anthony Hernandez and Nassourdine Imavov in the process.
His skid wasn't quite as concerning as Costa's, but like the Brazilian, he's been inconsistent enough to tumble right out of title contention. Pitting the pair against each other will tell us a lot about who really remains a top middleweight in 2025.
Daniel Rodriguez vs. Gabriel Bonfim
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Daniel Rodriguez's UFC 318 win over Kevin Holland clocks as one of the biggest wins of his career to date, and it should be enough to push him back into the welterweight top 15.
Having said that, the Californian is already 38, so he'll need to make some pretty special things happen to become a serious title contender in the division.
We'd like to see him take another step in that direction against Gabriel Bonfim, who defeated former title challenger Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson by points earlier this month. Granted, it was an extremely dubious decision, but it still earned him a spot in the rankings.
Given that he and Rodriguez are both new arrivals in the top 15, it makes sense to pit them against each other. They're also on similar schedules, so assuming neither is terribly injured after their recent three-rounders, they should be ready to fight again around the same time.
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Patricio Freire vs. Aljamain Sterling
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Former two-division Bellator champ Patricio "Pitbull" Freire will likely never win a UFC title, but the 38-year-old Brazilian can take comfort in the fact that he will at least retire with a UFC win—something that wasn't certain after he lost a decision to Yair Rodriguez in his debut with the promotion.
Pitbull's first UFC victory came against the always dangerous Dan Ige on Saturday's main card, and it should set him up for another big fight.
Our pick for his next opponent would be Aljamain Sterling.
Sterling is one of the greatest bantamweight champions in UFC history, but after losing his title to Sean O'Malley, hiked up to featherweight. He won his first fight in the division, defeating Calvin Kattar with a wide decision, but he lost his next fight in the weight class, suffering a close decision loss to the unbeaten Movsar Evloev.
At this point, Sterling seems to contemplating hanging up the gloves for good, but we can still assume he'll be back for a couple more fights.
A fight with Pitbull makes a ton of sense based on where they're both sitting in the featherweight rankings, but the real appeal is that it's a clash of two decorated MMA champions who likely never would have met if Bellator didn't go under.
Michael Johnson vs. Jim Miller
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Ultimate Fighter season 12 runner-up Michael Johnson has quietly become one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC.
For context, his UFC 318 decision victory over Daniel Zellhuber marked his 31st Octagon appearance. That leaves him just one fight shy of tying Dustin Poirier and Diego Sanchez for the 10th-most fights in UFC history.
Given all the wars behind him, and the fact that he's now 39, it's kind of amazing that Johnson is still winning at all. But after his defeat of Zellhuber, he's on a three-fight streak.
From here, the obvious contest to make for him is a showdown with Jim Miller, who holds the record for most fights in UFC history, at 46, and most wins in UFC history, at 27.
The 41-year-old knows retirement is right around the corner, but he aims to hit 50 UFC appearances, and ideally 30 victories before that time comes.
Johnson is just the kind of guy he should be fighting as he wraps up his career. It's an awesome fight on paper—clearly winnable for both men—and it's frankly shocking that in a combined 77 UFC fights, they haven't met in the Octagon already.
Granted, Miller is riding a loss to Chase Hooper, which might ordinarily rule him out of a fight with a guy with as much momentum as Johnson, but who cares? Let's book this one before both men ride off into the sunset.
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