UFC 318 pre-event facts: Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier conclude longest trilogy ever

UFC 318 goes down Saturday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), and after more than 10 years the octagon returns to Louisiana to honor the career finale of an all-time great.

BMF champion Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) will look to spoil the party however when he puts his belt on the line against the retiring Dustin Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC), who is 2-0 in their head-to-head series with victories in 2012 and 2019. They will conclude the trilogy after more than 13 years, marking the longest three-fight stretch between opponents in UFC history.

For more on the numbers inside the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie's pre-event facts for UFC 318.

Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier

Max Holloway

Holloway is the only fighter in UFC history to win an interim, undisputed and BMF title.

Holloway can become the first in history to defend the BMF title.

Holloway's knockout at the 4:59 mark of Round 5 at UFC 300 is the latest stoppage in a UFC championship fight (BMF bouts included).

Holloway returns to the UFC lightweight division for the third time in his career. He's 1-1 when competing in the weight class.

Holloway's total fight time of 8:02:43 in UFC competition is second-most in company history behind Rafael dos Anjos (8:43:19).

Holloway's 22 victories in UFC competition are tied for fifth-most in company history behind Jim Miller (27), Charles Oliveira (23), Andrei Arlovski (23) and Donald Cerrone (23).

Holloway's 20 victories in UFC featherweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Holloway's 11 knockout victories in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind Derrick Lewis (16), Matt Brown (13) and Vitor Belfort (12).

Holloway's 11 stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Holloway's nine knockout victories in UFC featherweight competition are most in divisional history.

Holloway's seven third-round stoppage victories in UFC competition are most in company history.

Holloway has landed 100 or more significant strikes in 16 separate UFC fights, the most in company history. No other fighter has more than 10 such performances, with Sean Strickland rankings second at nine.

Holloway has landed 200 or more significant strikes in three separate UFC fights, the most in company history.

Holloway has landed 3,457 significant strikes in UFC competition, the most in company history.

Holloway has landed 3,706 total strikes in UFC competition are most in company history.

Holloway holds the record for most consecutive UFC fights without being knocked down at 29. His streak was ended by Ilia Topuria at UFC 308.

Holloway has absorbed 2,298 significant strikes in UFC competition, the most in company history.

Holloway landed 445 significant strikes against Calvin Kattar at UFC on ABC 1, the single-fight UFC record. His 744 significant strike attempts in that bout are also a single-fight record.

Holloway landed 447 total strikes at UFC on ABC 1, the single-fight UFC record. The previous high was 361. His 746 total strike attempts are also a single-fight record.

Holloway landed 141 significant strikes in Round 4 at UFC on ABC 1, the single-round UFC record.

Holloway’s 10 fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are second-most in divisional history behind Cub Swanson (11).

Dustin Poirier

Poirier is one of nine fighters in UFC history to 0-3 in undisputed title fights.

Poirier's 22 victories in UFC competition are tied for fifth-most in company history behind Miller (27), Oliveira (23), Arlovski (23) and Cerrone (23).

Poirier's 15 stoppage victories in UFC competition are tied for fifth-most in company history behind Oliveira (20), Miller (19), Cerrone (16) and Lewis (16).

Poirier's 11 knockout victories in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind Lewis (16), Brown (13) and Belfort (12).

Poirier's 14 knockdowns landed in UFC competition are tied for fifth-most in company history behind Cerrone (20), Anderson Silva (18), Jeremy Stephens (18) and Edson Barboza (16).

Poirier's nine knockout victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied with Drew Dober for most in divisional history.

Poirier is the only lightweight in UFC history to land 150 or more significant strikes in three separate fights.

Poirier and Dan Hooker combined for 390 total strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 12, the single-fight record for a UFC lightweight bout.

Poirier and Holloway combined for 359 significant strikes landed at UFC 236, the single-fight record for a UFC lightweight bout. Their 827 significant strikes attempted is also the single-fight lightweight record.

Poirier is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn two or more submission victories by D’Arce choke. Tony Ferguson, Khamzat Chimaev, Julian Erosa, Vicente Luque, Kevin Holland and Islam Makhachev also accomplished the feat.

Poirier has been awarded 15 fight-night bonuses in UFC competition, tied for fourth-most in company history behind Oliveira (19), Cerrone (18) and Nate Diaz (16).

Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov

Paulo Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is 1-4 in his past five fights dating back to September 2020.

Costa is the only middleweight in UFC history to begin his octagon tenure with four consecutive knockout wins.

Roman Kopylov (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has earned all 12 of his career stoppage victories by knockout. That includes four of his five UFC wins.

Kopylov's victory at the 4:59 mark of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 249 is tied with six fights for the second-latest stoppage in a three-round UFC bout. Ricky Simon holds the record with his win at 5:00 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 128.

Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez

Kevin Holland (28-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC) becomes the first fighter to make four UFC appearances in 2025. He's 2-1 this year.

Holland is 6-3 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in March 2022.

Daniel Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) lands 7.47 significant strikes per minute in UFC welterweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Dan Ige vs. Patricio Freire

Dan Ige (19-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC) is one of two featherweights in UFC/WEC combined history to earn multiple knockout wins in less than one minute. Chan Sung Jung also accomplished the feat.

Patricio Freire (36-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is one of three fighters in Bellator history to have three separate title reigns in a single weight class. Michael Chandler and Douglas Lima also accomplished the feat.

Freire, a former lightweight champion, is the only fighter in Bellator history with four separate championship reigns.

Freire is one of two simultaneous two-division champions in Bellator history. Ryan Bader also accomplished the feat.

Freire is one of three fighters in Bellator history to win titles in two weight classes. Bader and Joe Warren also accomplished the feat.

Freire had the most fights (30), victories (24) and stoppage victories (15) in the history of the now-defunct Bellator organization.

Freire competed in the most title fights (18) and earned the most title fight victories (15) in Bellator history.

Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber

Michael Johnson (23-19 MMA, 15-15 UFC) competes in his 27th UFC lightweight bout, tied for third-most appearances in divisional history behind Miller (43) and Clay Guida (30).

Johnson is 4-5 since he returned to the lightweight division in October 2019.

Johnson’s 12 knockdowns landed in UFC lightweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Melvin Guillard (13).

Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira

Kyler Phillips (12-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is one of 12 fighters in UFC history to earn a triangle/armbar submission victory. He accomplished the feat at UFC 271.

Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen

Marvin Vettori (19-8-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) enters the event on the first losing skid of his career.

Vettori's average fight time of 16:55 in UFC middleweight competition is third-longest in divisional history behind Sean Strickland (18:11) and Israel Adesanya (17:09).

Vettori and Jared Cannonier combined for 394 significant strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 47, the single-fight record for a UFC middleweight bout.

Vettori is one of four fighters to land 11 or more takedowns in a UFC middleweight bout. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ABC 2.

Brendan Allen's (24-7 MMA, 12-4 UFC) six submission victories in UFC middleweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Gerald Meerschaert (11).

Allen's six submission victories by rear-naked choke in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind Demian Maia (nine), Kenny Florian (seven) and Michael Chiesa (seven).

Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio

Jimmy Crute's (12-4-2 MMA, 4-4-2 UFC) five-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since October 2020.

Crute is one of seven fighters in history to fight to multiple draws in UFC competition.

Crute completes 52.8 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC light heavyweight competition, the third-best rate in divisional history behind Lyoto Machida (65 percent) and Vitor Petrino (57.1 percent).

Crute is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn multiple submission victories by kimura. Krzysztof Soszynski, Rani Yahya, Frank Mir and George Sotiropoulos also accomplished the feat.

Crute's victory at the 4:51 mark of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 142 is the second latest finish in a three-round UFC light heavyweight fight behind Paul Craig's win at 4:59 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 127.

Marcin Prachnio (17-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) is one of four light heavyweights in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a body kick. Tyson Pedro, Jan Blachowicz and Rich Franklin also accomplished the feat.

Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey

Brunno Ferreira (13-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is one of eight fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back elbow. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 57.

Ferreira's four stoppage victories since 2023 in UFC competition are tied for second-most among active fighters in the company behind Jean Silva (five).

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 318 pre-event facts: Holloway, Poirier cap longest trilogy ever