UFC 318 Betting Tips
The BMF title is on the line at UFC 318 when Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier end their trilogy.
This is Poirier’s retirement fight, with the UFC giving him a well deserved main event slot in his home state of Louisiana.
The co-main event sees a crossroads fight at Middleweight as former title challenger Paulo Costa faces Roman Kopylov.
Here are our best bets for Saturday night's MMA card.
Tip 1 – Decision - Alternate Winning Method - Max Holloway - Dustin Poirier @ 7/10
Dustin Poirier (30-9-0 1 NC) and Max Holloway (26-8-0) complete their trilogy, with the former also bringing down the curtain on his illustrious career in what should be a barnburner.
The fight is Poirier's last in the UFC in what will be his 32nd in the company.
The American has a stacked resume which is famed for a 2-1 trilogy win over Conor McGregor, an interim title and a willingness to face the best competition.
Two shots at undisputed gold came via a 2019 submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov and in his last fight, a 5th round submission loss to Islam Makhachev, in what was an ultra competitive contest last June.
Holloway is 2-0 down against Poirier and having taken both on relatively short notice seven years apart.
The first encounter was Holloway's UFC debut in 2012, where after a lively start round Poirier submitted the Hawaiian in the first round.
The second in 2019, saw Holloway step up as the Featherweight champion to compete for the interim 155lb title in the absence of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
That fight went the full five rounds, with Poirier's conditioning and size advantage telling in the later rounds.
At only 33-years-old and now committing himself fully to Lightweight, Holloway will look to rediscover the form he showed in this division on last April's UFC 300 card, where he produced the knockout of the year against Justin Gaethje.
Holloway then dropped back down to Featherweight to face Ilia Topuria in October for his old 145lb title, however suffered a first ever knockout loss to the Spaniard in the third round.
Both men will bring the action and carnage that the BMF title embodies in this contest.
Holloway retains great speed on the feet and looks strong in his new weight class, while Poirier’s all round game has evolved like a fine wine and he remains as bloodthirsty as ever.
Just like the second fight between these two, expect it to be closely matched once more and this one to become a dog fight which sees both men still standing at the final bell.
Tip 2 – Kevin Holland to win by Finish - Yes @ 4/5
Kevin Holland (28-13-0, 1 NC) will make his fourth outing of 2025 against Daniel Rodriguez (19-5-0) this weekend and can continue his resurgence at Welterweight.
Holland has flip-flopped between 170lbs and 185lbs in recent times, but has now recommitted to the lighter of the two weight classes.
Since moving back down to welterweight, Holland has comfortably beaten both Vincente Luque (Sub - R2) in March and Gunnar Nelson (UD) in June.
His last serious run in the division the now 32-year-old went 5-3 with his defeats coming against Michael Page (UD), now-champion Jack Della Maddalena (SD) and Stephen Thompson (TKO - R4).
Rodriguez is also on a resurgent streak with back-to-back wins over Santiago Ponzinibbio (TKO - R3) in May, while he edged past Alex Morono (SD) last October.
Prior to that the now 38-year-old was on a three fight losing streak to Kelvin Gastelum (UD), Ian Machado Garry (TKO - T1) and Neil Magny (Sub - R3).
Wins over Luque and Nelson have seen Holland use his long limbs to good effect and with a seven inch reach advantage here he can do so again.
Rodriguez is tough, but taking these quick firefights against a veteran seems to be a ploy from Holland and he can push his case for a top-ten opponent with a win inside the distance.
Tip 3 – Daniel Zellhuber to Win & Over 1.5 Rounds @ 8/11
Daniel Zellhuber (15-2-0) looks to get a big name on his record when he faces veteran Michael Johnson (23-19-0).
Zellhuber has a 3-2 record in the UFC, losing a split decision last time out in September in a Fight of the Night contest with Esteban Ribovics at Sphere.
That interrupted a three-fight winning streak which saw him defeat Francisco Prado (UD), Christos Giagos (Sub - R2) and Lando Vannata (UD).
Johnson is 15-15 in the UFC, but is enjoying a mini resurgence with four wins in his last six fights, including back-to-back victories over Ottman Azaitar (TKO-R2) and Darrius Flowers (UD).
However, despite having wins over the likes of Dustin Poirier earlier in his career, Johnson has dropped significantly in competition in recent times
Zellhuber feels like a step back up in class with the 26-year-old having a speed and 3.5 inch reach advantage.
The Mexican has shown he is capable of breaking down opponents over the distance and is fancied to get the victory while adding more Octagon time.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change