3 prospects to watch at UFC 318 before Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway

Dustin Poirier competes for the final time at UFC 318 on Saturday night, and while the fan favorite is hanging up his gloves there’s also a few up-and-comers that will fight earlier on the card.

Taking place at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA on Saturday night, UFC 318 is headlined by a trilogy fight between Poirier and Max Holloway with Holloway’s “BMF” title on the line, plus top-ranked middleweights Paulo Costa and Roman Kopylov are set to square off in the co-main event.

The UFC 318 main card also features high-profile bouts like Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez and some credentialed veterans such as Patricio Pitbull and Michael Johnson, but let’s take a look at three rising talents that fans might want to pay attention to during the night’s prelim action.

Max Holloway (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Justin Gaethje (not pictured) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Carli Judice

UFC 318 will close out with a Louisiana legend’s final fight, but the action will also kick off with the third UFC appearance for Lafayette’s Carli Judice when she takes on Nicolle Caliari.

“Crispy” took a 3-0 pro record into a Dana White’s Contender Series fight with Ernesta Kareckaite where both women earned UFC contracts. Judice suffered another split decision loss in her UFC debut against Gabriella Fernandes but did earn a “Fight of the Night” bonus, and in March the 26-year-old scored her first Octagon victory when she handed Yuneisy Duben her first loss with a first-round head kick.

Ateba Gautier

Still just 23 years old, Gautier began his pro career at 1-1 and went the distance in both those outings before scoring four-straight knockouts in the first round to earn a shot on Dana White’s Contender Series.

A second-round knockout against the formerly-undefeated Yura Naito earned Gautier a UFC contract. “The Silent Assassin” faces Robert Valentin at UFC 318, where he'll try to build on the momentum of a sensational debut that saw him knock out José Medina in the first round and take home a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts.

Islam Dulatov

Dulatov is set to make his UFC debut against Adam Fugitt on Saturday night, but the welterweight already stepped into the Octagon once before to knock out Vanilto Antunes and win a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.

“The Ripper” came up short in his pro debut in 2019 but has finished every opponent he’s faced since then, and the only one of those fights to make it past the first five minutes was a 2021 meeting with Giorgi Kankava that Dulatov won via strikes in the second round.

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