The UFC’s most vigorous brawler, Dustin Poirier, looks ready to ride off into the sunset at UFC 318. ‘The Diamond’ gets a chance to put on a show in front of his home crowd. The promotion also returns to Louisiana for the first time in a decade—the last event there being UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson in June 2015. But that’s not the only thing that makes this event special.

Dana White recently revealed that the entire event was planned with Poirier’s retirement in mind. That’s a huge honor for the former interim champ—to have an entire card revolve around him. However, this isn’t the first time the UFC has done something like this. Michael Bisping received the same treatment before. And after hearing about the tribute, ‘The Count’ had nothing but praise for Dustin and the UFC boss.

Michael Bisping praises Dana White’s heartfelt UFC 318 tribute to Dustin Poirier

Michael Bisping stepped up on just 17 days’ notice at UFC 199 after Chris Weidman withdrew due to injury. He shocked the world by knocking out Luke Rockhold in the first round and capturing the 185lbs title. Dana White, impressed by Bisping’s performance and rewarded him with a title defense against Dan Henderson at UFC 204 in his hometown of Manchester. Seeing parallels in Dustin Poirier’s retirement event, Bisping recognized the honor and thanked White for giving ‘The Diamond’ a similar tribute on his way out.

‘The Count’ wrote on Threads, “Awesome way to honor Dustin’s career. Similarly, After I won the belt Dana called me Monday and offered me the Henderson rematch and said where you want it? We were thinking Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium. I was like, no way, it’s gotta be Manchester and sure enough, we brought the first ever ufc title fight (and defense) involving a Brit to Manchester. Gotta say thanks to everyone who showed up till 6am and screamed the place down. The atmosphere was f— insane. And of course to Dana.”

Dana White might be a short-tempered boss who can fire fighters for not living up to his expectations. However, he also rewards the special ones—just like Poirier and Bisping—for making a mark on the sport. And for all the wars Poirier has put on for the company, he truly deserved something special. Not just for himself, but also for his fans to remember.

And what more than an entire event, with people screaming Poirier’s name as he throws down with Max Holloway? The fight will also be for the symbolic BMF title, which currently rests on the Blessed’s shoulder. And he doesn’t plan on gifting it to his opponent, even if it’s a retirement fight.

Max Holloway planning to spoil Poirier’s retirement fight

Max Holloway has already faced Dustin Poirier twice—once at UFC 143 and again at UFC 236. But both times, the former featherweight champ came up short against the Louisiana slugger. So, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Poirier has been a bit of a kryptonite for Holloway. However, this time around, ‘Blessed’ is locked in and determined to even the score when he steps in for the trilogy bout at UFC 318.

Hollway said in his YouTube video, “First thing’s first: Dustin Poirier.  This is his retirement fight. He is taking it serious. Everybody keeps reminding me that 2-0. Everybody on the internet, everywhere is saying, ‘Why?’ And I’m going to show you why, I’m going to show you why I got this fight. I’m going to show the fans why they want to see this fight. I’m here to spoil his plans and get my hand raised because I’m still going to be here when he’s riding off into the sunset.” 

Holloway has been trailing against Poirier in their rivalry so far. But his performance against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 showed a whole new level of grit and power. With that momentum, he’s expected to be even more lethal at UFC 318. And if things go his way, ‘Blessed’ could not only retain his BMF belt at The Diamond’s retirement fight but also get some long-awaited revenge for his past losses.

That being said, UFC 318 is still roughly over a month away. So, who do you have winning the headliner? Will Max Holloway finally get his revenge, or will Dustin Poirier become just the second fighter after Alexander Volkanovski to hand him a 3-0 loss? Drop your picks in the comments below.