Dana White Promoting Dustin Poirier’s Retirement with ‘Mediocre’ Fight Card Gets Brutally Roasted: “You’ve Been a Bad Promoter”

UFC CEO Dana White announces the UFC 318 fight card, headlined by Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway for the BMF title.

Dana White Promoting Dustin Poirier’s Retirement with ‘Mediocre’ Fight Card Gets Brutally Roasted: “You’ve Been a Bad Promoter”

Dana White gets slammed by fans for underwhelming UFC 318 card (via Imago)

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After years of thrilling wars inside the octagon, Dustin Poirier is preparing for what could be his final UFC fight. The seasoned lightweight will clash with Max Holloway for the symbolic BMF title in a highly anticipated showdown. Although Dana White confirmed the card recently, many fans felt the lineup lacked the excitement they were hoping for.

Following the massive success of UFC 317, which delivered nonstop action, fans naturally expected another stacked and thrilling fight card. With Holloway vs. Poirier headlining, the buzz around UFC 318 reached new levels, raising expectations for more explosive matchups. Unfortunately, the rest of the card disappointed fans, though Dana White continued promoting it heavily on his X account with enthusiasm.

THIS CARD IS SO BAD A**!!!! The BMF card is officially finalized! This is going to be FUN in New Orleans.

Dana White via X

In UFC 318’s co-main event, middleweight veteran Paulo Costa is set to face the rising Russian star Roman Kopylov. Despite his previous title shot, Costa holds just one win in his last five bouts, which concerns many MMA fans. Ranked only #13, the Brazilian’s star power has significantly faded, and calling him a UFC superstar feels like an exaggeration.

Lightweight veteran Michael Johnson returns to the main card, facing Daniel Zellhuber despite being absent from pay-per-view main card events since 2017. At 39 years old, Johnson’s placement surprised fans, as his recent performances haven’t demanded main card billing or major attention.

Meanwhile, the only meaningful rivalry, Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen, was oddly placed on the prelims, leaving many fans in confusion. Vettori and Allen has beef that spans over a year with the two colliding with punches outside the octagon. Both of them doesn’t hold when it comes to trash-talking as well. As such, putting them on the prelims didn’t make much sense to the MMA community.

Except for the main event, no other fight on the main card features top 5 or top 10 ranked fighters. This issue isn’t new, as UFC 312 and UFC 315 also faced criticism from fans for having underwhelming overall lineups. Fans believe Dana White is capitalizing on Poirier’s retirement, Holloway’s star power and the BMF title hype to promote a mediocre fight card.

Fight fans react to Dana White’s announcement of the UFC 318 fight card

Many fans voiced frustration online, claiming that UFC overly depends on headliners while ignoring depth across the entire event lineup. Experts like Demetrious Johnson warned that if this pattern continues, pay-per-view sales and fan engagement could suffer long-term. Additionally, as UFC CEO, Dana White is now facing scrutiny regarding his dedication and decision-making for the organization’s overall quality.

Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier to fight at UFC 318
Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier to fight at UFC 318 (via X)

White has recently focused more on TKO Boxing, especially promoting the upcoming Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford super fight. He’s been active in press conferences and interviews for boxing, a level of involvement rarely seen in recent UFC promotions. Despite fan criticism, White announced the UFC 318 card with enthusiasm, prompting strong reactions across social media and MMA communities.

As expected, fans didn’t miss the opportunity to verbally roast White for an underwhelming card. Many mentioned that Dustin Poirier, in his retirement fight, deserved a better card overall. Some felt only the main event was worth buying the PPV for. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to see if the card holds any surprises for the fans.

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