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Stream UFC 318 on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv
Get ready for UFC 318 live from New Orleans as Brendan Fitzgerald, Daniel Cormier, Dominick Cruz, Alan Jouban and Teddy Atlas preview the trilogy fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.
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Video Transcript
Hey,
hey, hey.
Some nights in the fight game feel bigger than rankings or records, and this is one of them. At UFC 318, BMF
title is on the line. But it's also about legacy and heart at home for Dustin Porier, who returns to the
octagon one last time, chasing not just a win, but the perfect ending to a career built on grit and respect. Max
Holloway ready to rewrite the history of this rivalry. We are counting down to UFC 318 in New Orleans.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event of the evening.
Who is the BM of the Octagon?
It is a festive day. It is fight day in New Orleans. The big easy and it is
great to be here alongside Jail Sen and Alan Joan from Lafayette, Louisiana. I'm Brendon Fitzgerald. It's a bittersweet
day though, isn't it gentlemen? Dustin Porier for the final time challenges Max
Holloway for the BMF belt. And I'm feeling that for the first time. I'm feeling that. I've been all about
the BMF. But there is something as the audience starts to come in as as you're out here with with your thumb on the pulse of the crowd. They're a little bit
sad. There is a mourning that's going on right now. We're in the celebration phase. But yes, when Dustin actually
takes those gloves off, I think we will feel something. It's it's an interesting night, right, to have the highs and the lows mixed in
in one night. But listen, when you talk about Dustin Porier and his career, he's a guy that if you're not a fan of Dustin
Porier fights, you're not a true fight fan because he's the fighter type of fighter. He delivers in his performances
inside the Octagon and outside of the Octagon as well. He's a fan of everyone. And for him to get this this this last
dance here in New Orleans, exactly what he wanted. We would not be here in New Orleans if it were not for Dustin
Porier. It's going to be a fantastic night of fights. You do not want to miss this fight. You don't want to miss the main card. lock
in that pay-per-view buy. Head to espnplus.com/pppv to get that settled. Allan, I'll uh I'll
come to you because I haven't done TV with you yet this week, but I know we've all been busy, but you are the Lafayette
guy. You have a relationship with Dustin. How would you describe his approach to the week and how things are going for him on the day of the big
fight? Well, first off, he looks in fantastic shape, probably the best shape I've ever seen him in his entire career, which is
a little bit funny. You heard him say this, maybe you figure it out at the very end. He talked about this being the best weight cut he's ever had. It shows.
I mean, he's absolutely shredded up. But the mindset is the most important thing in these type of things. They talk about
fighting at home, and we all know this. It's a lot of pressure. You fight at home. It's not only the people wanting tickets and helps and and hookups and
those type of things, but it's the pressure that you feel that the fans don't even think about. Fighters feel this type of pressure. If anybody had to
have this type of pressure on their shoulders, Dustin Py is the guy. He is someone that could absolutely handle it.
Throughout his career, Fitz, he's had these opportunities, title fight after title fight. He somewhat tried to walk
away from the sport, but he was given a BMF opportunity again, a title fight over Islam. He's always taken these
opportunities. Now he is content with it. He's content with the opportunities. He's content with the money. He's content to walk away tonight. Jail, your
thoughts on how Dustin has handled this week as you have seen it. I think it has been great, but I I will see to Allen's point, there's no such
thing as a home field advantage, at least not in our sport. There is massive pressure pressure on you, all your
neighbors, all your classmates that you've been telling for years what a tough guy you are. Well, they're going to find out tonight. And uh historically
speaking, when a guy's got one foot out the door, when a guy knows this is my last fight, there's something about that
where they don't always dig as deep as they need to. Now, there's exceptions to the rule. Robbie Lawler is one of them, and I think that Dustin's going to be
tonight. But there is a lot that goes on it. This is a rematch. This is the third match, as a matter of fact, but Max is
the favorite, and that is very compelling to me. How can we have seen something not once but twice? Same guys,
same rules. Definition of insanity is to expect a different result by doing the same thing. The crowd largely is Max
Holloway's the favorite. The audience is seeing something Fitz that I'm missing. Well, the last time Max fought for the
BMF belt against Justin Gachi. That was when he scored that huge win. But that was in the last 10 seconds of the fight.
Remember, he controlled that entire 25 minutes against Justin Gate and then he capped it off with that incredible
knockout. Now he's a full lightweight Dustin. He's out of the featherweight rankings is Max Holloway. He's number five at lightweight because of that win
over Justin Gai. And perhaps a different approach. Maybe that's the difference is that Max Holloway settled in in this new
division. Yeah, and I think that's what the oddsmakers are looking at. He's settled in. He's filled out. Now look, the last
time that these guys fought, it was a back and forth competitive fight, but doesn't win every round in that in that matchup. He won every round. I think you
made a note that he's won every round in the two matches that they've had prior to this. So Dustin somewhat has his
number now. This time they're fighting at 55. Max has had time to fill out. Dustin is Porier himself has spoke about
how big Max Holloway looks going into the fight week. And so I think oddsmakers are looking at that filled out Max Holloway. And also you have to
look at the obvious. Dustin Porier is 36 years old. He's got one foot out the door. I don't think he took anything lightly in this camp, but he's got one
foot out the door. Max Holloway is the one that has the most pressure on his shoulders in a way because he's got a a
career to continue. He wants to fight for the belt. He wants to make a name. He cannot. The young eat the old in this
sport. And Max Holloway cannot let the old eat the young. Tonight there was a video game when I was growing up. It was called Mike Tyson's
Knockout. There was a character on there. My favorite. There was a character called Bull and you got no redos. If you got to him and
you lost, you had to start over at the very beginning with Skinny Joe. But the point is this. When Bull would do certain thing, you had to drop down. You
had to hit him in the body. Once you learn that, you could get past this character called Bull. Now, I tell you that because Dustin Porier claims, and
he said this after his second fight with Max, but he claims I was able to beat Max because Max is a rhythm fighter. I
was able to find that rhythm and make him reset for 25 straight minutes, which is why I got my offense going and he
never did. And I think that Dustin is regretting right now possibly having given us that info. It was their second
fight. He never would have envisioned a third contest. And Max is going to hear that back. And it does allow for Max to
make some changes. And I I'll just make a suggestion for you. If Max comes out with a kicking heavy game, it is going
to throw off the alleged rhythm that Por believes that he found. We're out to a great start here on this
show. We have a bald bull reference from Tyson's punch out by Ch. That was You have to figure that guy out. You have to punch him in the belly
before you go high. We are going to have the governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, join us here on the set uh throughout this hour as well.
Over 50 minutes left to get you ready for UFC 318. We'll hear from Dom Cruz and Teddy Atlas as well. and Brett
Okamoto doing some behind thescenes reporting. He joined the one, the only, the voice of the octagon, Bruce Buffer
moments ago. Thank you, Brandon. Here with Bruce Buffer looking uh as Bruce Buffer as
ever. And uh you know, I wanted to ask you with New Orleans, you know, you got the flavor, a little bit of cultural city. Any thought process went into with
the wardrobe selection or is this uh that's could have could have been worn anyway? It's a party city. The beads are around
the neck. I figured I'd wear a tuxedo jacket that had a similar like feel and flare to it. So, I think there's a
little bit of pizzazz going on here. You know, all in honor of New Orleans for sure. Nola,
honor of New Orleans and then in honor of Dustin Porier, of course. Absolutely. Without question. I mean, you give your heart and soul
into every single announcement. I think that's why everybody loves you and you do such a great job, Bruce. But when you know it's the last one, especially for a
guy like Dustin, how much does that come into your mind before you uh before you go out there to do it? You know, it comes into my mind and I'm an equal
opportunity announcer, but when it comes to Dustin, I just want to give him as much I always give as much passion and energy as I can. But this is a special
moment for Dustin. It's a special moment for me because I've announced every one of his fights in the UFC and I want to make sure I send him out with the
biggest roar I possibly can cuz he deserves it. He's a warrior. Probably a tough question for you to
answer, but you just said you've announced every single one of his fights, which he's had quite a few in the UFC. In the UFC. Any of them stand out? Does
does one stand out? What's What's the Dustin Poor moment for you, Bruce Buffer? He's had so many wars. I mean, you know, his fights with Conor McGregor, his
fights with Holloway. The thing about Dustin is when he comes in to fight, he comes in to fight and it's like every
fight I go, "Oh my god, Dustin, what a fight." And then I see the next fight, I go, "Oh my god, Dustin, what a fight." Tonight, I'm probably going to go, "Oh
my god, Dustin, what a fight." So, I'm always looking to see what happens. Yeah. I mean, every time Dustin Porter watchs the Octagon, it's special. You've
been there for every single one of them. This one's going to be extremely special in his home state of Louisiana. Thanks for giving us a few minutes, Bruce.
Enjoy your night. You're very welcome. Let's have a great night in New Orleans. Let's do it, guys. Brett, thanks very much. Bruce Buffer,
you know, is ready. The fans are ready. They just opened the doors. Fans are in the house here in New Orleans.
Uh, first time in a long time that we are in New Orleans and the Octagon returns. What a festive week it's been,
Allan. Seems like it's gone off without a hitch this week. I mean, I think we should come here every year. It's been since 2015. I was
supposed to be in a card. Daniel Cormier was supposed to be in the card. DP was on the card. He delivered that night. B and DC did not end up being on the card
that night, but you look at the festivities. Power slap last night was a fun night, but I mean, everyone is here for this tonight. Dustin Porier's walk
away. This city hosts the Super Bowl every couple of years, and it seems to be the best spot. I think UFC should
make this a stomping ground every single year for the UFC. It's a great location for a big fight, isn't it, Ch?
I'm all for it. You know what? By the way, I've been wanting gumbo. All I want is some gumbo. I thought you ate that with a spoon. It turns out you pour rice
and then you dump it and you eat it off a plate with a fork. They delivered it to me last night. No plate, no fork. I
never got to try the gumball. My gosh. You did. You had grits though for the first time in your life. Delicious with a fish. I did scallops.
Delicious. All right, we have fan questions that we have uh gotten throughout the week. Let's see our first fan question of the
show. Hey T, question. Uh you think this is going to be DP's last fight if he wins?
It's been pretty clear. Although Dominic Cruz is the one who brought up yesterday, if Dustin goes out and gets a big win, maybe he has Ilia Toporia on
the on the tip of his tongue. What do you think? And and one thing about Dustin, as amazing as his career was, he actually
had one side bound agreement that never goes on his record. The fight fell through and that was against Nate Diaz.
And I'm I'm only sharing for you. There are plenty of interesting things for Dustin to do. However, my answer is no.
We can take him at his word. He has made a decision. The company has made a decision. He will go out the right way.
But either way, he goes out tonight. I'm I'm going to piggy back on Cheryl Sunen and double down on that. He is not
fighting in the UFC again. He He has made his decision. He's moving on. Him and Julia having a baby at the end of the year. He is turning the page on
that. Nate Diaz is the fight that never happened. We might not see him in the UFC octagon again, but I could see
Dustin Porier dabble in boxing at one point and have that match with Nate Diaz. All right, we'll see. That's to be determined. Certainly, we will celebrate
all that is Dustin Porier tonight and Max Holloway as their rivalry comes to a
close in their third matchup. I mentioned Dominic Cruz and Teddy Atlas upstairs. We'll get them involved right
now. Dominic Cruz, good to see you. I'll give you the first thought on uh Max Holloway. Dom, he comes in in a very
interesting position as the challenger. I mean, he is he's the belt holder, so he's really the BMF champion, but really
in a hostile environment tonight here in New Orleans. What are your thoughts? Yeah, you know, I believe he's got less
pressure on him personally. And the reason I say that is yes, he's got a career that he's going to go into, but he's already down two u matches to this
man and Dustin Porier. So, all you got is up. You can only get better from there. And beyond that, because he wants
to continue his career, to get the shot to fight somebody that you've lost to twice, to get the shot a third time that
the company gives you, what a blessing. I would have died for an opportunity like that if I lost to somebody twice.
So, I think he's got a gift. I think he's got a chip on his shoulder. I think he wants to prove to the hometown fans
in the world that Dustin Porier has all the pressure and that he's just hanging out, showing up to do his job. And I
think that this is going to help him uh relieve the pressure of the two losses because he doesn't have to perform.
People might say, "Hey, he already lost twice. He doesn't need to go out there and win because we don't expect him to
win." What a gift that is for an athlete that people sleep on you and expect you not to do it because you've already not
done it twice. He's free. I think he's going to show up free and I think we're going to see the best Max Holloway at
155 because of that. To you, Max Holloway, one of his best and most impressive records has been
that he has the most significant strikes landed in UFC history. He's poised to go over 3,500 tonight. When you look at Max
Holloway in the game that he has, how do you think it'll go against Dustin Porier? He's certainly no stranger to
fighting him. They've already fought twice. No, I mean, you got guys that are a lot smarter than me in in this
business. Although, I do know the striking end of it. I I appreciate you guys allowing this caveman of a boxing
guy uh to be with royalty like you guys because you guys know all the terrain of
the UFC, of MMA, but there is one thing that really does stop pace. I've heard
you guys talk about pace, and if anyone keeps a fast pace, that's Mr. Holloway,
the guy you see scoring a knockout there. And where you don't always see that, but when you do see it, it's
accumulation. It's not one punch. It's accumulation. It's combinations, but it's pace. It's that torrent pace. It's
that motor that you guys all talk about that just keeps going and going and going. But there is one thing in my
business that stops pace, and that's power. Power will stop pace. Because
when you can catch a guy a good shot, a couple things happen. one, he gets a little bit a little bit thoughtful about
coming in. And there's one other part of the power. It's the delivery of the
power, and that's something that Dustin does, and that's called counter punching. So counter punching and power
for me is the enemy of pace. You want to stop pace, all right, guy's coming at you, he's looking to be real busy
throwing a lot of punch. You make him miss, bang, you counter him. Now you do with power. You hurt him a little bit.
You made him think. Now all of a sudden he's saying maybe I better not be throwing that many punches. I better be
a little more thoughtful. I all of a sudden something called tentative being
tentative. We don't want to be tentative in life. We don't want to be tentative in that cage. And to me that is the
thing that Max Holloway really has to deal with. We know he's a great combination puncher. We know he's got a
great motor and we know he comes forward. But when you come forward with a counter punch with power,
sometimes that fits into the other guy's hands. Look, Teddy likes to play himself down and say that he we're MMA royalty and
all this, but let's not forget who he is. He is the man in boxing. So, I love to learn from him, too. And to tee off
of what you're saying, I agree with everything that the power and the timing of the counter is key to stop all that
output that we're seeing from Max Holloway. But on another note, how does he land those things? Why is it that Dustin Porier has been able to do that?
From my perspective, it's that southpaw stance. When you watch Max Holloway versus southpaws like Conor McGregor,
like Dustin Porier in the past, he tends to not see the defensive shot the same
way because you're facing somebody. The weapons are different. When you got a southpaw, the jab is no longer the same.
Now you're hand fighting. The foot placement is not the same. Now you're fighting for foot placement. You're also
fighting to block the right hook, which is what landed for Dustin Porier so much in their second match. And now the left
hand that should normally be a jab is now a power shot. So everything is backwards for Max Holloway. And on top
of that, what he landed on Justin Gatesy was this spinning heel kick that you see at the end of round two. Those spin
attacks won't be there on a southpaw because the stance is different. So now he's got to spin the opposite way. Well,
that's not your strong side if you're Max Holloway. I'm not saying he can't do it, but it's not the one that you hit
without thinking about it. And that's what happens when you face a southpaw is the things that are normally natural in
your flow kind of go the opposite direction. You tend not to land and uh the same shots and you tend not to be
able to dodge the same shots. And I think that's what made a difference for Porier in their first two bouts. And I think that that's what's going to make a
difference in this bout as well is that Southpaw stance. I add one thing to you're right. You're 100% right. I hate fighting southpaws. I
don't want no South. You tell me tell me now we we'll talk about him later that we don't want to fight those guys for
the most part. There there was a day in my business where you converted a guy because nobody would fight us out for so
you converted him for there was a reason for it. But the one thing I will leave with this and leave with this is that
the most dangerous punch in his arena tonight is going to be that southpaw right hook for the reason you said
because the orthodox fighter who of course in this case is Max Holloway is not used to seeing it come from that
that angle. His peripheral doesn't pick it up. We're saying the same thing. Agreed.
Two legends. Thanks for breaking that down. I have something more to watch now because of how you guys laid that out.
Well done, Dom Cruz, Teddy Atlas upstairs inside of Smoothie King Center. We will revisit you throughout the show
as we're just over 40 minutes from the start of UFC 318. That octagon will see
Dustin Porier's final fight at the night's end as we are back on the bayou for the first time in 10 years.
Louisiana, home sweet home. How are we just
standing? They've seen me grow.
Fighting out of the Lafayette, Louisiana, the diamond. They've seen me rise. Dustin comes out with the flag of our
city. It captures a championship. They've seen me fall. I've been close to the mountain top. I've been knocked down and I've climbed
back over and over again. Yet they've made that walk with me every single time. Born by
Dustin Pier
God has done it. I'm going to LA Louisiana baby. There's nothing like home.
And for one last time, welcome home. A fighter to the core.
Louisiana. He is the unquestioned king of Lafayette, Louisiana.
This is for you. It feels good to be home, Louisiana.
And how about that? And what a fitting way to welcome the governor of the great state of Louisiana, Jeff Landry.
How about that? Some great fans, huh? Look, we love we love sporting events. We love fighting
and we love Dustin Parier. Hey, we love being here and we love having you on the set. Thanks for taking a few minutes. That's got to bring you a
lot of pride to have Dustin and Louisiana come together like that. It's been so welcoming to us. What how would
you describe the state of Louisiana and the hospitality that everybody feels when when they get to come here.
Well, look, it's always great to see a hometown guy, someone from your state do so well on a big stage. I mean, that's
why we love it here. And of course, New Orleans is a city that's made for partying and it's made for major events
just like this. This is something that we've been working great for. I mean, think about it. In the last seven months, we put on a Super Bowl, a Sugar
Bowl, Migra. Now, we got this great event, right, with all these great people here. Yeah, it's fantastic. And
you're not just a guy from Louisiana, but St. Martinville, just outside of Lafayette, where Dustin Porier is from
and uh Daniel Cormier is from. So this hits different that Dustin Por is not just from your state, but he's from your
area and he represents Lafayette, Louisiana. What does it mean to have a guy like Dustin represent your state and
and really your city that you're from? Well, to see to to have that story come from a small town just like where
Dustin's from. You know, I knew I know Dustin's older brother, Jimmy. Him and I played football together. It's a great
family, very athletic. uh to see him, to see his story. I I think his story is not only a story of Louisiana. It's a
story of America, right? Someone who comes from down, works their way all the way up and is now on the big stage. And
that's what these people are here to see. They're here to see their hometown guy. They're here to see their state play up on the big stage. And no one has
done it better than Dustin. You talk about Daniel, we've had some unbelievable fighters from Louisiana.
And it's just great to have UFC back here in the state of Louisiana and in the city of New Orleans. Coincidentally,
Dustin fought here 10 years ago in 2015 and he beat a guy from Hawaii by the name of Yansancy Maderas. Now, of
course, he'll look to turn back Holloway. It's easy to say give Dustin the home game or, you know, put the
octagon wherever, but it takes a team effort. Um, how would you describe what it's been like to work with the UFC
because I know it took a village to really put it on the right way and to give Dustin the sendoff that he deserves? Yeah, UFC hadn't been here in a long
time. I mean, we worked hard. We when I came in as governor, we cleaned up and re uh positioned the boxing commission.
We said we definitely want to see a UFC fight here in Louisiana again and especially in the city of New Orleans. I
can tell you this event being here today is not a is not contributable to me. It's contributable to this the team of
everyone here who helped to work to get this this fight here today. And of course to the fans, everyone who came
here to watch Dustin. I think that was a special thing. Um and so today is a special night. And of course, a big
shout out to Dana White and the UFC folks. I mean, to give us an opportunity and to say, "Hey, these are some things
that we need to be able to put this fight on." And we check the boxes off. Having immense pride from where you're
from is kind of the easy part, but there seems to be such a camaraderie with Daniel Cormier and Allen Joan and
Dustin, Theo Vaughn, the guys that play for the Saints and all of the people that are from here that kind of use
their platform for good. How do you describe that for Louisianans and how they come together?
Well, Louis, for Louisianans, it's natural, right? It's a natural resilience. We love people. Uh we love
to have a good time. We work real hard. It's a great work ethic here. It's about discipline, grit, but having a good
time. And I think that that symbolizes everything that Daniel, Allen, all the rest of them look at the first fight
tonight. Carly Udis is from the area as well. I look it, we like to have a good time. The the thing that we like the
most is to compete. That's what we like to do. We like to compete and we like to win. And Brendan Allen's been calling for
purple shorts for Louisiana for a long time. He's on the card tonight as well. That's exactly right.
Excellent. Do you have a prediction for tonight? Hey, right. I'm a diamond guy. Right. Huh.
Governor Jeff Landry, thanks so much for joining us for a few minutes. Pleasure to meet you. We've had a great week here
in New Orleans. Thank you. And speaking of guys from Louisiana, Daniel Cormier backstage with Brett Okamoto.
Thank you, Brandon. here with our boy DC. And if you were in the state of Louisiana last night, you might have heard him just yelling to this guy about
how full he was. Did you see that? Did you talk about this dinner that made you that full? And then you share that
on your Instagram. It was so crazy. I was eating and I was like, I should stop. But I kept eating.
I was so full. It was the best, bro. It was this great steakhouse called Desi Vegas.
Amazing steaks, great sides. Yeah, we had a we had a hell of a dinner that night. Any regrets? Would you have gone back
and eaten a little bit less or was it all worth it for you? This has easily been the greatest fight
week of my entire life. Being back home in Louisiana, I know exactly what to order to just make myself so happy. The
people Hey, listen. I'm from New Louisiana. I've been to New Orleans. I've just never been to New Orleans with
money. Now I've been to New Orleans with money. Boy, this city stacks up to any
city in the world. I'm telling you. Well, I'm happy you're enjoying yourself. Uh, talk to me about Dustin Porier. You have been through this. You
have walked to an arena knowing that it was like going to be the final time. How different of a day is it for Dustin
Porier than what he's used to? It's much different. It was much different, man. I remember going into
that third fight with Miocic and I was thinking to myself, I have to make this walk one more time. Let me try to take it all in. Let me try to appreciate what
I'm going to be doing. And all day you're thinking about it. And as it gets closer, you have this same excitement
that you normally have, but you also have that little bit of that regret that you know this is kind of the end of it.
And it it's a sadness that you have to kind of tuck away to make sure that you can go in there and try to do what
you're here to do. And ultimately that's win. Do you think it had any impact on your performance, positive or negative? Uh I don't know if it impacted my
performance. I thought that uh there was a lot right to mine. This is more normal, right? We're in the middle of co
all the other stuff. No excuses, but uh it was a lot. But I think in a more
normal situation like Dustin's dealing with today, he may be able to compartmentalize with it a little bit
better being that when he steps in this arena, it'll feel like an arena like the other 40some times that he's already
fought. Yeah. Last question for you. No Rogan. So the pressure of the final Dustin Porier
interview falls on your shoulders. Are we nervous about this? Have we thought about it? Have we ran through a few few different scenarios? How are we going to
handle this? I've gone through some some I've gone through this situation now on the winning side, on the losing side,
both Max Holloway, too, because you know how much I I love Max Holloway. But with Dustin, it's an emotional time, right? I
this this event I've played out so great. Mike my Taylor, Mark Russell, he
made me a suit that's the dark purple like Martyra. I wore like a peach one from Miami. Called it Miami Vice. I call
this one Marty happy Martyra. Look, everything to me has been perfect. It's
going to be an honor to share the octagon with those two after that. And hopefully I can add to it or just stay
out of the way enough to where he has his moment and it's as special as it should be for him. Appreciate you, bro. I'm very much
looking forward to this walk out and then the fight and then How happy am I, dude? You're in a I mean, you're you're always in a pretty good mood. You This
is like no Nola, DC. It's a new thing. So happy. It is. I'm happy for you. I'm happy for all of us cuz we get a great main event
at UFC 318. Guys, back to you. We sure do. Thanks very much, Brett. UFC
318 bringing the heat. The BMF belt on the line tonight and a full fight card
in our return to New Orleans for the first time in 10 years. Just over 30 minutes away. That octagon is going to
be on fire tonight. And not just because of the main event. Of course, there's a full fight card. And here is your main
card coming up. Head to ESPN plus.com/pppV
to get that order in. There are 14 fights tonight, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to dive into that co-main
event. You know, the sport is a lot of fun when Paulo Cost is at the top of his game. He's got his hands full tonight
against Roman Copalof in that co-main event. Kevin Holland, how about his fourth fight of the year? We're barely
halfway through, just over halfway through the year. Let's talk about that co-main event at middleweight. Paulo Costa, he started his career undefeated
all the way to a title fight. And now he's got Roman Cop who's won six of his last seven. I spoke to Apollo a couple of nights
ago. I have a relationship with him going back to the Ultimate Fighter 3 in Brazil. He was actually on the other team, but wonderful guy. And I got to
tell you, he's got one issue. And his issue is he's not thinking about Roman. He's completely distracted with
something personal to do with Chamay. He hasn't revealed to us, the audience, what that is. He says, "I'll do that
after the fight." But he said openly because I can't quit thinking about him and I need to stop. I need to focus on
that guy and I'm not there. And I just share that with you. That's a real thing, man. If you got a task in front of you and you're not thinking about it,
you have a little bit of a problem. You saw him at the press conference. I mean, the table was about to get knocked over. He was so antsy and so worked up
thinking, as you said, he's distracted. He has other things on his mind. For me, it's which Paul is going to show up. The
guy that started his UFC career 5-0, four finishes, worked his way to a shadow shot against Israel out of Got
knocked out in that fight, and since then, he's been a bit gunshy. We haven't seen those type of performances. as he
had that last performance against Shawn Strickland. A bit of a lack, lost her one where he didn't want to really engage into the fire. On the other side
of things, Copilov has had the opposite type of career. Started slow in the UFC and has really picked up steam. He
hasn't been facing the same type of competition as Paul Costa, but for me, it's the X factor. Like you said, how focused is Paulo Costa coming into this
match up in the co-main event that's really flying under the radar? Kopalov has won back-to-back fights. I beat Chris Curtis got a fight of the
night bonus earlier this year and he's the betting favorite tonight against Paulo Costa. How about Kevin Holland? Any Kevin Holland fans here? He's become
a fan favorite. He's competed way more than anybody else since 2018. He's a one of a kind guy. He's at welterweight.
That's the thing, right? You never know where you're going to find him, how motivated he is. He says he wants to fight, I think, seven times was the
number he wants to get in 2024. I think he did it once during co as well. But Kevin Holland, the most active UFC fighter we have ever seen. And you
said two wins now at welterweight. I think this is the weight class for him. He's tall. He's long. He moves around
well. He carries his power. He's got underrated jiu-jitsu. He's hard to submit. Going against D-Rod Rodriguez,
this is a guy who has tremendous power. He always has that kind of that extra punch with the left hand. You have to be cautious of that. Drod is a guy that's
active. He's one of the most significant strike leaders in the welterweight division in UFC history. He has to catch
Kevin Holland. Kevin Holland is not an easy guy to catch, especially a welterweight. Rodriguez is a street fighter if there ever has been one. And but but but
Holland, while that's kind of his mentality, is quite a technician. He very specifically would like to get you to the ground. He very specifically
would like to show off that Travis Lutter black belt that he's so proud of. However, if you work from the guard and
you don't find a submission, it's very hard to gain favor with the judges. And that has always been strategically a
battle that Kevin Holland has had to really choose. He likes to get the fights to the ground, but we try to encourage him, hey, if you get it there,
get on top, don't stay on bottom. And when Kevin does make those adjustments, he's really a handful, but he's got to
have the right strategy. And you never know which one's going to show up mentally. Just over two months removed is Daniel
Rodriguez from his knockout win over Santiago Ponzanibio that came in early May. Let's go to Dan Eay and Patricio
Pitbull. Dan Eay, honorary mention in terms of BMF because on 4 hours notice last year.
Oh yeah. Took on Diego Lopez. Patricio Pitull is looking to get in the win column. Jail. If I may say, if you are UFC fans
exclusively and you've seen Pit Bull one time a couple of months ago in Florida, please trust me, you have not seen
Pitbull. That was not him. A number of guys freeze or they call it the pressure, whatever it is, but their
first time in the octagon is not the performance they want. Even guys that go out there and get a victory, their first
time's not the performance they want. And this pitbull that you're seeing clips of is not the young man whose
career I followed up until this point. And I'm just going to share with you, as much as it's true that the first night
out, sometimes there's some some speed bumps. It doesn't happen on your second time, the second time a guy comes out
and performs, Eay is just the wrong guy to try to show off in front of because Eay will fight you right back.
100%. And look, when you think about Pitbull and a lot, as you said, a lot of people that UFC fans are not as familiar with him. This guy has nearly 50
professional fights. He was a champion in Bellator and other organizations. He didn't have the show that we thought he was going to put on, but look at the
opponent that he had. Y Rodriguez faster than everyone in the division. Kicks from the outside. Tough draw.
Stylistically not the matchup. Look at this match up. Dan Eay. Both of these guys are built for each other. This is a fight of the night type of performance.
Two guys that will sit down in the pocket and throw haymakers. By the way, there's two pit bulls. One of them beat Michael Chandler. Is this
the one that This is the one that knocked out Michael Chandler. So that's the type of power that he brings to the division. Former champion
big time. And Eay wants to keep his spot in the top 15 at 145 lbs. He's coming off a decision victory over Shawn Woodson.
We're going to head back upstairs to Dom Cruz and Teddy Atlas. Before, gentlemen, we were talking about Max Holloway who's
trying to keep his belt. Dustin Pory, of course, wants to go out on a win. Dom, I'll start with you. How do you think
he's handled the situation that it is coming to the end of his career, getting a lot of celebratory messages from
everybody, but he's still got a big test tonight? Well, I think he has handled it like
anybody in his position would. A lot of crying, a lot of tears, a lot of trying to, you know, bask in the beauty of it.
But it I've seen the dichotomy that he's that he's facing and it's the dream of the love that everybody is and says what
I am and the truth of the fact of the nightmare that he's about to face in the
octagon doesn't matter. Like they're two completely different worlds. And so uh from my own experience, you want to
receive everything everybody's telling you, but at the same time you kind of want to create a wall for it. You don't want to let too much in because this guy
that you're facing doesn't care about any of that. And when he's on the other side of the octagon, he is going to make
you bleed and he's going to try to injure you to the fullest extent that he possibly can. And that is a sobering
truth that never leaves Dustin Porier's mind. I can guarantee you. So I think he's handling it very human. And I think
that uh he's taking it one step at a time like a true pro.
Fighters in your day. What would you be telling Dustin Porier on this occasion before he makes that walk for the final
time? Well, along the lines of what this very smart young man, he's still young, uh,
just finished saying, I it's not so much about what you're going to do, it's
about what you don't want to happen, what you don't want to do. That to me, that's where it starts. You don't want
it to be that different. Even though it's very difficult to to not make it different when everything that he just
explained with the emotion, being home, being your last fight, being for that
title, all of that. But you want to remind them that, hey, 49 times we have
done this. And how have you done it? What have you made sure was one of the things you wouldn't do? Get too
emotional. Get too emotional. You never want to get angry. We know that. I wish I could get
a writer, a fighter who's gonna fight my guy to sign a contract. I will get angry. Oh, you will? Beautiful.
Beautiful. Now, it's gonna be easy. We're gonna be able to get you not thinking and be able to do what we want
to do. You don't want to get too emotional. So, that's what I would do as a trainer. Just be a reminder. We be
reminded that hey 49 times the rule was be calm, cool, collected, be a pro.
Stick to the things you did in the gym. Control your emotions. Now I know that this young but we must stick to those
rules. We 49 times we did it. Let's do it one more time, buddy.
Man, well said. And that's I think the the trick in the whole matter is he's never been where he's at now in 49
fights, which is the end with all this love built up and all this history for people to look at and give him that
love. You know, when you start your career, everybody just doubts you. He's at the end where it's like everybody knows what you are. You've done
everything you could do. Thank you so much for giving us everything. How do you compartmentamentalize that as an athlete? I know how, but it's tough is
what I'm saying to just put that aside and say, "Hey, no emotion. and I'm here to take this guy out. End the story just
like coach is saying. Cruz, what would be the X factor in this fight? What will you be looking for
early to see how this fight is going to play out? It's going to be that lead hand fight because uh Max Holloway loves that lead
jab and he sets all his rhythm off of that jab. All everything from Max Holloway comes off that jab and that
deep kick and the flow he finds. So, I think right off the bat, we got to see how that lead foot position from the
southpaw of Dustin Porier starts. We got to see how that lead hand position starts. Is he clawing? Is he reaching?
Is he stuffing the jab of Max Holloway? Is he landing that right hook? Because that's going to be Porier's secret
weapon. And last but not least, is he going to be able to pressure Max Holloway? If Max Holloway moves Porier
back, it's a bad night for Porier. But if Porier can do what he's done in the past two fights, he's going to pressure Max Holloway, take away his rhythm, and
land the big heavy shots. You know, the funny thing is that Max Holloway for all his success, great
success, great. I mean, one of the greats, definitely a Hall of Fame. Both these guys are going to be Hall of Famers. Nobody would argue with that.
But Max Holloway really breaks the rules. And I'll tell you what, when
you're not a huge puncher, when you're not a big punch, Paul is the punch in this. I don't think you need Teddy Allen
to bring that out. I think we already have understood that. But when you're not a big puncher, usually you don't
want to be aggressive. Usually the guy who's not the puncher is the guy moving
around. The guy just looking to counter, set traps, give angles, do all and he's got good legs. He can move around a
little bit laterally, too. He does a good job with that. But for the most part, you can you can bet every day of
the week and twice on Sunday, Max is coming forward. He's coming. And yet
again, that is breaking all the rules, at least in my business, of when you don't have that power. You don't want to
come forward. You want to stay away from the guy who's got the power. You want to make him come to you. You want to
counter. You want to keep him off balance. You want to make him move his feet all the time where he's not set to punch. So, in my mind, you're not going
to get away. People born round don't die square. I did learn that one. So, at the
end of the day, there's no doubt Max is going to come forward. So, he's going to press power, no power. But if I'm if I'm
him, I'm also putting in a little lateral movement because I have a puncher. What's the best way to n negate
a puncher? Stay off the center line. Yeah. Move. Just make him move his feet so he's not set to punch. I don't care
who it is, Joe Lewis, Mike Tyson, they have to have their feet set to deliver
power. So, move him around. Don't let his feet get set. It ain't that complicated.
Teddy, one final question for you. Obviously, this is a very unique circumstance for Dustin Porier because
it's his last one, but there's also a very unique prize. It's not just a belt. It's the BMF belt. Do you think that'll
affect how he fights because of what it means to win that prize?
You were talking about obviously about Dustin. The question is, right? Yes. Yes. No. How's that for an answer?
No. I to him to what he said. He's got bigger fish to fry. He's got more
important things to worry about. Like that guy across the octagon from him. He you think he's thinking about this thing
the this belt? No. At the end of the day, he's got other things. He's got to
worry about a dangerous guy in a dangerous business that's in front of him for the 50th time. His concentration
will not be magnified or brought down by
the belt that he's fighting for. It's a fight and that's enough. It's a BMF belt
every time he gets in a ring. It might as well be that because the danger is always the same. The threat is always
the same. Sobering danger. Teddy Atlas, you keep that same energy.
I want to watch the fight right next to you. Okay, buddy. It's great. Missing out. I gota
Tom Cruz and Teddy Atlas upstairs inside of Smoothie King Center here in New Orleans. The fight fans are here.
They're ready for it. Just over 20 minutes away from the start of UFC 318.
First, let's catch up with Brett Okamoto. John Anick will be the leader on the mic tonight. Brett,
thanks guys. Here with John Anick. We're actually standing right where Dustin Porier will walk out of the tunnel
tonight for UFC 318. and we're getting the viewpoint that he will have as he walks out. Can you even compare this to
anything else? And just in terms of the anticipation of what this guy's going to be like on his walk out, the stakes, and
then of course the location of where we're at. I like the question because I don't I don't believe there's a comp. Honestly, when I was writing my pay-per-view open
and I thought about George St. Pierre in Montreal and even Jon Jones in New York, this is just different. Never before in
UFC history has the company essentially brought a pay-per-view and a non-title fight with respect to the BMFL, a
non-unisputed title fight to the fighter home state. It's going to be incredible and thankfully an athlete like Dustin, I
think he'll channel all the emotion in the right way because I think other athletes would sort of fall victim to the circumstances. I can't wait.
Well, I was going to ask you that and you kind of beat me to my next question, but you get a really good inside look at the fighter meetings of these guys. And
Dustin wears his heart on his sleeve, so I think all of us get a pretty genuine look at what his emotions are, but you really do get a different sense being in
those fighter meetings when he walks out with little wheezy. And I think the act the uh the uh energy is going to be
high, but then it kind of sinks in of course that he's making this walk for the final time. How do you what would
you guess that we're going to see out of him emotionwise? I'm not sure if he's going to cry, but I wouldn't be surprised. I think it's
advantageous that he has the blue corner because he'll have a moment to reset as Max is introduced as the BMF champion
reserves the right to fight last. But I think it's okay to let those emotions go a little bit. If he was fighting out of
the red corner, as trit as that sounds, I think that might have been more problematic. But I think you need to sort of let that in because Joe Silva,
matchmaker, would even say to me like, "Dude, you're so tense." Like, you have the job you want. Don't forget to have
fun and enjoy the ride. So hopefully he enjoys the last dance. I think it's the final fight. You always do, man. It always reflects
in your calls. But I do got to ask, if we're in the fifth round of this thing, and I know what you're thinking. You're
thinking about the point down. I actually want to ask you, and Dustin Porier jumps on a guillotine and we see a tap, how in the world are you gonna
make that call? My goodness. Well, I thankfully won't give it any forethought because you have to react in the moment. Even my last
championship call, Ilia topodia, you know, a man of his word, right? I certainly didn't plan to say that. It's almost like you don't know when the
finish is going to happen and then boom. But, um, I think thankfully with this main event, bulletproof matchmaking, I
think both guys are going to perform well, but those 10 seconds if we get there figured to be pretty epic, my Yeah, man. I think it's going to be epic
no matter what happens. It's only epic fights really with Max Hollow and Dustin Pier involved. And of course, we got the right guy calling uh the fights as
always. UFC 318. Thank you so much, John. Appreciate it. Enjoy your night, bro. Back to you guys.
Thanks very much, Brad. Can't wait for whatever moment happens in that main event. And uh hopefully there are many
of them for as long as the fight lasts. Less than 20 minutes now from the start of UFC 318. A 14ight card. We brought
the goods to New Orleans. It starts on ESPN 2 and ESPN Plus. Let's take a look
at some of the prelims coming up because there's a lot of action on this card.
The featured prelim is Kyler Phillips and Venicius Olivivera in that loaded
shark tank of a bantamweight division. These two are in the top 15. We'll talk about that middleweight matchup in just
a moment. And then keep your eye on Aiba Goautier taking on Robert Valentine. And
there's some also some local action on the early prelims. But first, Diamonds in the Rough is what we called it. Ch.
We wanted the fight that stands out. And you picked Marvin Vtori who will be in hostile territory against Brendan Allen
from Louisiana. Marvin Vtori I could take it or leave it. Angry Marvin Vtori is a whole
another deal. And when he could channel some of that when he can channel and focus on one guy Marvin Vore is a
handful. Now in full disclosure Allan I should probably I used to train with Marvin Bour and we were in the same room
so I got a little bit of a relationship with it. But I'll just share with you. I've seen nice Marvin. I've seen angry Marvin. Angry Marvin closes out the
night. Angry Marvin fights in main events and for championships. I think Angry Marvin's going to show up
particularly with this opponent in Allen. Yeah, definitely a bunch of bad blood on this one. And for my pick on the night, I'm going to go with another Louisiana
gunslinger. The opening bout of the night, Carly Judis. I mean, I don't know what it is about Lafayette, but they bring these Southpaw strikers. And you
look, Carly Judis is a girl new into her career. Picked up striking right away. She's coming off of that monster head
kick knockout. She got a $50,000 bonus in that one. This is a fighter who lost on Dana White Contender Series and he
was so impressed that he brought both of them back on. 100% finish rate. She has never won a fight by the judge's
decision. And the girl that she's going against has never done that either. This one should be a banger. When I look at if these if these women were criminals,
Carly Jus is a hit and run and she's going against a smash and grabb a powerful striker who's trying to drag
you to the ground. Should be a fun fight to start things off. Wasn't Carly trained at a gym called Head Kicks MMA. And that's Gladiators
Dub in her uh first UFC win. I'll take one that's almost guaranteed to be a
finish. There aren't many guarantees in life, but Bruno FA against Jackson McVey. It's right after Carly. So, if
you're watching this show, you're probably tuning in for the full card. Bruno Feda in 15 pro fights. He's only
been out of the first round four times. He pulled a massive upset against Gregory Rodriguez. He's had some
showstoppping knockouts and it doesn't figure to last long. and he's taking on Jackson McVey
who's 6 and0 and he's never been to a second round. So don't get up to get a drink for that middleweight matchup that
is early in the night. We've got 15 minutes to go until the start of UFC
318. Still time to get in more words with the diamond Dustin Porier. Megan Olivy caught up with Dustin Porier in
advance of his final fight.
Teddy Atlas told me talking about my career, he he said, "It's hard to see the picture when you're standing that close to the frame."
I think one day when when the smoke clears and I'm really done fighting, I can look back and be proud of everything.
My mom put me in wrestling when I was 9 years old, and uh I didn't even know they had mixed martial arts gyms in
Louisiana. That's how early the sport was for me. And I ran into some guys who were training their boxing for mixed
martial arts at a boxing gym and uh went to their gym and never went back to the boxing gym.
Can I tell the people like a soul boo walking out in the MGM grand with the
UFC gloves on, fighting out of the Gladiators Academy. It was amazing. You know, my first win in the UFC is a night I'll never forget.
First we've seen of Dustin Porier in the octagon, but he is really putting on a show.
Yes. Hard work, baby. It's tough to say like the mindset I was in back then, but I was young and
really believed I was the best in the world. And ignorance is bliss.
Who ain't got jiu-jitsu this fight. Oh, he tagged on the left,
Mike. He heard it up front. Just
obviously I got better as as a fighter. I've had a lot of big fights in the UFC. main events and I just knew who I was. I
was more acquainted with myself. I I knew all that mattered was when the bell rings.
Oh my goodness.
Oh, busting wide open. Dustin Porier is a savage. Seems like Dustin's getting comfortable
with the boxing range, too, now. That leg is crushed right now. It's starting to get that beating Connor in Abu Dhabi. It just
felt like it was uh it was meant to be. When they called me with that fight, I was I knew I was going to win. I didn't
care what he did or what he said or whoever was across from me under those lights that night. Louisiana,
I was going to get my hand raised. What goes through your mind right now as you think about making the last walk to
the UFC octagon. I'm scared of it. I'm scared of it. It's uh it's bittersweet. You know,
I've done this longer than I haven't. After becoming a father, I realized like fighting was who I was and what I did.
Everything got kind of put in perspective. It's not everything.
But I'm thankful for the journey, you know. I'm I'm I'm thankful for it all. You know, it's it's beautiful when it works out and it's beautiful when it
doesn't if if you embrace it all.
When I lay the gloves down, there's nobody else like that. I would rather have fought my last fight than Max
Holloway. This is the ending. We can't go back.
This is the end. Bringing it home and where it all started. I love Louisiana.
New Orleans is a special place to me and I kind of I wear it proudly that I'm the reason UFC is coming back to Louisiana.
Louisiana. Hello, baby. But this one and it being my last one being home in Louisiana, New Orleans,
it's incredible.
began his pro career in 2009. He made his UFC debut January 1st, 2011. 15
years later, just about Dustin Porier walks for the final time tonight. I mean, there has been so much placed on
Dustin Porier this week. He's handled it well. Uh, I can't wait to see how he handles it with the fight on the line.
If you're going to do a rematch, you got to be able to answer one question. It doesn't really matter what your answer is, but what is going to be different
this time? And in part three, that's got to be a strong answer. We've never been given that, but excuse me. I think I got
the answer yesterday at the faceoff. When they did the ceremonial weigh-in, Max is no longer a 45 pounder that has
competed at 55 and wants to run back down home. He is now a 55 pounder. He went as far as to tell the rankings
committee, "Do not rank me at 145. I am never coming back. This is my new weight class." And I could see it yesterday. I
could see it through his shoulders. He towered over Dustin Porier. There's no question of Max moving up from 45 to 55.
Is he going to be too small? I had to face that two weeks ago. Max is now a lightweight and it shows and that is
going to be something different for the Diamond. Do you think it makes a a change in the outcome? It potentially does. Yes. But it could
also there's two sides to it. Could it slow him down? Could it fatigue him more? There's things that come when you
change your physiology. I don't have that answer yet. Yeah. Yeah. We're going to get to see it tonight. I mean, that's what we're all waiting for. When you talk about Dustin
Py though, he's a bit of the last of of a dying breed. This is a guy that back in the day to get to the UFC, you had to
have 25 fights. You have to have three championship belts. You had to cut your teeth on the regional scene. This is a
guy that was fighting in rodeos and bars and back alleys to get his opportunity to get here. That's why he's such a
grizzled vet. That's why when somebody points to the center of the octagon, he tries to beat them there. And he wants to stand in the fire and see who can
stay there the longest. It's the last of a dying breed. Guys are getting to the UFC much sooner. They're getting paid
much faster when they were fighting for hundreds of dollars back in the day. That's what he comes from. Now, we talk
about stylistically tonight, the match up. I'm going to steal something from Dominique Cruz. He pointed out, fantastic analyst, and he pointed this
out to me the other day. He said, "Look, historically, Max Holloway has not done that well against Southpaw fighters. You
look at some of his losses. Alexander Vulcanoski a switch stance fighter, but he goes southpaw a lot that throws off
that lead jab. Also, Conor McGregor, there's another Dustin Porier. He's lost to him twice. So stat statistically and
historically southpaws do not allow Max to get that rhythm going with that lead jab. And Dustin Pory as a southpaw
fighter has been fighting orthodox fighter his entire career. I don't know if much changes in this match up again tonight on the trilogy.
Well, interesting you should say that because they fought two different ways. The first fight they go to the ground and Max says I'm not going to make that
mistake the second time. So they stay standing up and Dustin appears to widen that gap. Look where is it that Max can
do? What is it that he can change? I suggest perhaps a kicking heavy style, but I don't go as far as to predict for
you that he's going to do it. He's stubborn. There's only two ways to fight. You're going to fight on the feet or you're going to fight on the ground. Let's see if Max has that third answer.
Less than 10 minutes until the start of UFC 318. Let's check in with Brett Okamoto one final time. Who is on the
arena floor with Dean Thomas. Thank you guys. Here with Dean Thomas who I haven't seen all week in New
Orleans. Usually I see you every day during these fight week. Where you been? You've been out partying. Bourbon Street. What? Are you kidding me? Bourbon
Street, baby. We are in New Orleans. That's the Porier Max Holloway. I'm on
Bourbon Street. I don't drink, but I was partying anyway. Well, it's nice that we got you out of the parties into the arena for Saturday
night. Tell me the X's and O's. What is the key between Dustin Porier and Max
Holloway? Give me the last breakdown I'm going to hear before this fight. Well, I tell you what, Brett, this is a fight that does not come down to the X's
and O's. It's because it's Dustin Porier's last fight. I think this is more emotional than anything because
he's going to go out there and he knows he's not ever going to do this again. He's in front of his people. He hasn't
fought in front of his people in a long time. I think this is a fight where it may start off where he's just like
experiencing this this euphoric feeling and then at some point in that fight he's going to say, you know what, I need
to buckle down and show out in front of my people. And Max Holloway is the guy to oblige. I don't think X's and O's are
really going to matter. I think this fight comes down to emotion and who and who's avoids getting hit hardest the
first. Let me get your take on this. We all know about the famous Max Holloway point down. Who do you think does it and who
is it better for if they meet in the middle and exchange like that? I think if this goes into the fifth
round Dustin does it. I think I think Dustin does it earlier. I mean if you look at their second fight
Dustin essentially did that in between rounds four and five. I think if this goes into the fifth round, Dustin points
down to the center and if that is the case, I actually think it favors Max. Yeah, I think it favors Max. But I think
if it comes down to that and and let's say it does happen and Dustin gets knocked out, I think he goes out with his head high.
All right, one last thing for you. Overunder on silly goose guillotine attempts by Dustin Porier in his final
UFC fight. I don't think he does it. I I know he don't he talks about jumping a Gilly, but Dustin will not jump Gilly in this
fight. I think that if he gets in a position to do that, he breaks away because he's going to want to go out
swinging. He'll never get a chance to be in front of his people again, he's going to go out swinging because Dustin's a
fighter fighter and that's the way he fights. Yeah, he sure is, man. I can't wait. I can't wait. I'm glad you came in off the bourbon streets to at least catch it on
Saturday night. Dean, always a pleasure, bro. Uh back to you guys. We're pretty close now to UFC 318 prelims.
We sure are, Brett. Thanks very much. Just a little over five minutes. Uh, we'll get some predictions in just a
second. Allan, I want to ask you one question about Dustin. If all he did was fight the way he does, he'd have a ton
of fans, but of course, it's about more than that. As a guy from Lafayette, you work side by side, the good fight, the
platform for good that he uses. Can you speak to the man that Dustin Porier is outside the octagon?
I I think that's why he's so beloved. We love what he does inside the octagon, right? He's a gunslinger. He brings it
every time. He has those moments that we live kind of vicariously through when he's sitting inside the octagon pointing at the m at Max Holloway to meet him in
the mat. But he's an even better guy outside of the octagon. The Good Fight Foundation is his charity. Just recently
in Lafayette, Louisiana, 1,200 backpacks goes to the kids. He's giving those out next month. He does that every single
year. If he's not there, he has his troops. They take care of it for him. Uh the Thanksgiving, he's giving out turkeys. He's giving out hams. I mean,
he's always giving back to the community. And people in Lafayette, Louisiana, and all of Louisiana, they
recognize that. They recognize that he's a good man. He hasn't let the stardom go to his head. There's a lot of ways, a
lot of people that we can name right now that let this this this being this star, the money, the power, the fame, and they
get in trouble. We've been seeing it a lot with a lot of notable fighters recently. Dustin Porier has doubled down the opposite direction. He's gotten
better as a human being the the more that he's become famous in fighting. That's beautiful. I wish you'd keep
going. That was beautiful what you just did for him right there. Made me rap. I was going to keep going. He married his seventh grade sweetheart.
That's beautiful stuff. They only make that in movies. And I mean, I'm just speaking to Allen's point, like the one
guy you're never going to see on the cover of TMZ is Dustin Porier. He's out there doing good. He's out there giving back to the community. And you at home
don't have to worry. You're only going to see Dustin fight again tonight, but he will be joining us. We're going to see him up here. He He's going to join
us. He'll have the cool jacket on. He'll share some of his expertise from the fight career. But he's a real fighter fighter. Chale,
can you speak to what you've seen? He's an authentic guy and like Allen said, the last of a dying breed. They asked
him in a perfect scenario, right? He's got a magic wand. The genie pops out of the bottle. Perfect scenario. How do you
win this fight? He says, "Long drawn out war. I'll put him down at the end. I'll
get a finish at the very end." And I couldn't imagine that as my answer. My answer would be I don't break a sweat. My answer might even be the guy doesn't
show up and I win by forfeit. I couldn't believe. But see, that's not how his mind works. That's not how his heart works. He truly wants to be in a grindy
war. He wants to trade positions. He wants to trade punches. He wants to train uh moments and rounds back and
forth because that's how his mind works. Yeah. Uh we asked some fans throughout the week for their predictions for how
this main event is going to go down before we get theirs. Let's hear from some of the fans.
UFC 318. I got Dustin Porier by Guillotine. Round three. I mean, last
fight. He's got to get the Gilly in. He's got to get it. Hey, I'm going Max Holloway in the main
fight. I got the main event. And it's going to be a battle. Third round. Dustin Porier
knockout done. Cash it. I got I'm going to go a little offbeat. I got Dustin Porier by submission in the second round.
I got Dustin Porier by knockout. He's going to win this fight. He's a great fighter all in all. Good man for the sport. Love to see him represent.
I got Porier. Round one knockout. Let's go. Porier. Round three. Lights out.
Done. KO. All right. I got Dustin Porier. Round one. Guillotine baby. Let's go.
Wouldn't the place be on fire if he goes round one guillotine? We're going to get Chale and Allen's predictions in just a
sec. I'll take the temperature of the room. Predictions for the fight. Dustin Porier wins tonight.
I think that's unanimous. What about Max Holloway? Any Max Holloway supporters here?
Okay. I saw Hawaiian flag earlier. I saw Hawaiian flag. All right. Uh Snapchat is
getting involved as they do for these big events. If you want to get in on these filters, you head over to
Snapchat. You scan that QR code on your screen right now. Child's prediction time. Dustin Porier and Max Holloway for
the third time and the final time. Who wins? Dustin Porier is going to win this fight. Listen, it's it's just math. They
fought twice. The same two guys have done the same thing. Dustin was very dominant. Now, he gave away his game
plan. He says it's about rhythm. Can Max hear that and make an adjustment to the rhythm? That is the only question that I
have for tonight. Ultimately, to your question, Brennon, I take Dustin Porier. Yeah, and I'd have to agree with you. I got Dustin Porier. These guys have
fought twice, he has finished Max before. Max is also, although he is a 55 now, he's coming off of a knockout for
the first time in his life. Never been dropped. Now he's been knocked out against Ilia Tapora. How does he feel in the gunfight when he gets clipped? Is he
able to stay going forward or does he get a little bit buzzed and have the recovery right there? I think this goes a decision. We get a war. I'm hoping to
see both men meet in the center of the octagon. both men. I would love to see the entire crowd put their hands down,
their fingers down and make these guys get into it and force a moment inside of the octagon together.
All right, since both of you guys picked Dustin Porier and you guys look great with the face ink on, we haven't seen
Max Holloway's Snapchat filter. Now, idols. Look at that angel. Man, this looks like me tomorrow
morning, right? Um, lightning would strike if you show up in the local church. My wife is born and
raised in Hawaii, but I do not pick fights. But this is your Snapchat filter if you're so inclined to go on and pick
the Bless Disclosure Express. We are less than a minute from UFC 318
beginning Dustin Porier. He has had many favorite moments over the course of his
career. Mine probably the Benois Deni knockout. Uh Allan, do you have any quick Dustin Porier favorite memory
before before we say I've got to go with that win over Conor McGregor. Okay, a little backstory on this. He was brought in to lose that,
right? Because they thought Conor McGregor was using as a tuneup fight. Dustin didn't know that, but it was the win there and the way that him and Jolie
pointed at one another. It was the Queen King recognizing the queen. Beautiful moment. And I'm going fast, but it's Dustin Pores round five with Dan Hooker.
Okay, fantastic. Moments away. Head to ESPN 2 for the early prelims. We'll see
you after UFC 318.