UFC Abu Dhabi looks pretty good on paper with four ranked fights and several ranked fighters. But more importantly, we got sensibly booked matchups, and some really interesting pairings. Are there some contests that could (and should) have been left to an Apex event? Absolutely, but there are still some very solid scraps that should appease even picky f…

UFC 318 gave us lots of tremendous moments, starting with six finishes. That’s right, folks, the first six fights were all finishes. As a matter of fact, they would be the only finishes, too, as the next eight went to decision. We had some real bangers though, leading from the top with Poirier-Holloway. What a scrap, but it would be Holloway leaving with his arm raised. The tribute to Dustin was well-done and had many in the arena crying, and even some outside the arena.

Other notable bouts were Kevin Holland’s battle with Daniel Rodriguez, which saw both men nearly finished, but it would be D-Rod clinching the victory. Paulo Costa looked great against Kopylov, which wasn’t hard to do since Roman seemed to get his gameplan from his mom, because he looked awful and didn’t come alive until late in the third. Patricio Pitbull captured his first victory inside the octagon with a solid win over Dan Ige. Wish he could’ve gotten to the UFC before his prime was spent, but he got the W, and that’s what counts.

Now, let’s check out the rest of the results and bonuses while we’re here.

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UFC 318 Results

* Max Holloway def. Dustin Poirier via unanimous decision (49-46x2, 48-47)

* Paulo Costa def. Roman Kopylov via unanimous decision (30-27x2, 29-28)

* Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

* Patricio Pitbull def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

* Michael Johnson def. Daniel Zellhuber via UD (29-28 x3) (

* Vinicius Oliveira def. Kyler Phillips via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

* Brendan Allen def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

* Nikolay Veretennikov def. Francisco Prado via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

* Ateba Gautier def. Robert Valentin via first-round TKO (1:10)

* Islam Dulatov def. Adam Fugitt via first-round KO (4:06)

* Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio via submission (armbar) (R1, 4:32)

* Ryan Spann def. Lukasz Brzeski via submission (guillotine) (R1, 2:37)

* Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey via submission (armbar) (R1, 3:35)

* Carli Judice def. Nicolle Caliari via third-round TKO (1:30)

UFC 318 Bonuses

* FOTN: Vettori vs. Allen (wtf??!!)

* POTN: Judice, Dulatov and Gautier

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UFC 318 might have the hallmarks of a solid PPV—four ranked fights and 10 ranked fighters—but when you get to the alternative stats, that’s when the whole thing falls apart. Fifteen fighters are coming off losses! And a 16th went to a draw. Fifteen fighters hail from the Contender Series. This seems an unacceptable sendoff for the Diamond, even if it is happening in his back yard.

We have a genuinely great trilogy match between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. Max looks better than ever against recent competition (unless your name is Ilia Topuria), and Dustin has been alternating wins and losses for the last several years, but sniping the up and coming competition along the way.

While Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov seems like a fun fight, it just doesn’t seem like a proper co-main event, considering how Costa has looked in his last couple outings. Now, let’s take a look at all the fights from the main card and the alternative stats.

UFC 318 Main Card

* Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 155 lbs

* Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov 185 lbs

* Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez 170 lbs

* Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull 145 lbs

* Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber 155 lbs

UFC 318 Alternative Facts

* Ranked Fights: 4

* Ranked Fighters: 10

* Fighters coming off losses: 15 + 1 draw

* Contender Series Alumni: 15

* TUF Alumni: 3

* Road to UFC Alumni: 0

* Debuting Fighters: 2

Don’t forget to check out the bonus section for a great review of the UFC Nashville card. Since Zane was out last weekend, he didn’t have a chance to watch the card, so no bonus content for this episode. Make sure to tune in immediately after this Saturday’s fights for breakdowns and analysis on our 6th Round Post-Fight Show.

Thank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to The MMA Vivisection & 6th Round Post-fight Show podcast Substack to enjoy our premium content. Your paid subscriptions are keeping hope alive that we can continue on with our shows. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today. If you have, please share this post far and wide.

Thanks for reading MMA Vivisection & 6th Round! This post is public so feel free to share it.