SportsLine's Daniel Vithlani reveals his picks for the UFC 318 fight card from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday

Poirier clocked in at 156 pounds on Friday morning for his retirement fight. “The Diamond” is set to take on Max Holloway, who clocked in at 155 pounds, in the UFC 318 headliner. Poirier will have the hometown fans firmly behind him, as the fight will be held in New Orleans.

The entire UFC 318 main card, along with Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier, had faceoffs at the press conference.

Paulo Costa reveals the shocking reason he wants to go to war with Khamzat Chimaev, igniting tension ahead of a potential clash.

M ax Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 3 is a tough act to live up to. Two of UFC's most endearing and enduring stars will collide, after which Poirier will retire in his home state of Louisiana at UFC 318. The MMA world's attention will appropriately be on the main event, but it's not the only significant fight.

Costa's comeback arrives just one month before the division's title is contested between UFC champion Dricus du Plessis and undefeated challenger Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. Although he has some work to do before he nears a second-career title shot, Costa isn't letting go of his old rivalry with Chimaev.

UFC 318 continues with a fight between Paulo Costa and Roman Kopylov. Check out our UFC odds series for our Costa-Kopylov prediction.

NEW ORLEANS – Paulo Costa has seen better days, but Roman Kopylov still considers him to be at elite level.

Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) were booked to fight at UFC 294 in October 2023, but Costa wound up withdrawing due to injury. Their rivalry dates back to a heated run-in at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas prior to Chimaev's UFC 279 win over Kevin Holland in September 2022.