Dustin Poirier is ready to ride off into the sunset at UFC 318, in front of a cheering home crowd. Once again, he’s got a final shot to call it quits with the BMF belt in hand. But standing in his way is an improved Max Holloway, hoping to turn this into a scrap to remember. UFC head honcho Dana White has planted the promotion’s most lasting trilogy as the Louisiana slugger’s farewell, and he even had a massive backup in case things went south. But sadly, that’s not the case anymore. 

We all know Poirier and Holloway never shy away from a barn burner—and it’s almost always a Fight of the Year contender when they throw down! Their last meeting in 2019 at UFC 236 for the interim lightweight belt was one of the wildest wars ever. Also, not many fighters in the UFC can bring that kind of chaos, unless the name is Dan Hooker! He already gave us a fight to remember against ‘The Diamond’ five years ago during the Apex era, and it still holds up as one of the best back-and-forths in recent memory.

White was also down to run that scrap back again. However, as ‘The Hangman’ revealed, the promotion had actually lined him up as the backup for the UFC 318 main event, just in case one of the headliners had to pull out. Sadly, his broken hand that forced him to pull out from his UFC 313 co-main event slot now needs a second surgery. This means that he is no longer serving as the replacement for the headliner.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Hooker said, “I did know that this fight was going down for a long-time. Because they wanted me to be back up for this fight. They wanted to get me another lightweight, just any old lightweight, and on the card, and then any of these guys got injured, the UFC wanted me to step in and back up for the BMF title.”

He continued, “So, it would’ve been an incredible opportunity. Unfortunately, I need a second surgery on my hand; there’s too much scar tissue, because of that, it doesn’t look like a fist. It’s not a major surgery. We have to just cut her open and bring out some scar tissue… So that would’ve put me like 9 weeks before the fight. So, it would take kind of a perfect storm for me to be able to be ready by hand. But, doesn’t look like it is gonna happen. But incredible fight!”

That’s definitely a kicker! The Kiwi would’ve been an insane replacement if the main event had fallen off for any reason. We were all hyped to see him face Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 in the co-main, but that same hand injury sadly forced him out. And now here too, he would’ve been a solid addition to the UFC 318 card, no doubt about it. 

Hooker’s hand injury has ruled him out for an uncertain amount of time, and not seeing him on the card stings. But he isn’t staying quiet—he’s got something pretty interesting to say about the UFC 318 main event, especially who he thinks walks away with the win.

Dan Hooker believes the cards are stacked against Max Holloway in his UFC 318 bout vs. Dustin Poirier

The UFC 318 main event is heating up. Especially with all the different takes on who’s going to come out on top. Some believe Max Holloway has the edge—he’s three years younger than Poirier, and his evolution in striking makes a strong case for the current BMF champ to retain. But Dan Hooker sees it differently. He thinks Holloway’s last fight ending in a knockout, plus moving up to face a guy who’s already beaten him twice, makes this a seriously tough task for the Hawaiian.

Hooker continued his conversation with SkySports interview and said, “He was clipped by Ilia Topuria and knocked out. So, he’s not just coming up from featherweight, fighting the bigger fighter, Dustin Poirier. He’s also coming off the back of the only knockout. I believe he hadn’t been knocked down, potentially once, and there was a bit of a question mark on it. Max Holloway, before that Ilia Topuria fight before was coming off the back of his worst of his career, fighting a guy he has already lost to twice, it’s a tall task!  Dustin Poirier’s last fight in his hometown. You know who the cards are definitely stacked against him! But, it will be one heck of a fight!”

‘The Hangman’ definitely makes a lot of sense, looking at this fight from a different angle. Poirier looked like an improved version of himself in his last outing against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. Moreover, he proved that he’s fully bounced back from that brutal head-kick knockout by Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. Sure, Holloway’s getting most of the attention heading into this one. But honestly, it wouldn’t shock anyone if ‘The Diamond’ ends up walking away with the BMF belt.

That being said, who do you think gets the last laugh at the UFC 318 main event? Is it Dustin Poirier or Max Holloway? Also, do you think that Dan Hooker could’ve been a solid replacement or do you have another name in mind? Please comment!