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.
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