After an emotional and spectacular night of fights, UFC 318 will go down as one of the hottest events in 2025 the MMA organization has put on so far. Despite the BMF title fight not going the way of the fan-favorite, Dustin Poirier, the crowd made the PPV what it is as they were electric from beginning to end. 

The main card delivered as many compelling narratives were made and technical persistency showed with five decisions occurring. Here are five key takeaways from UFC 318 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Michael Johnson is getting better, but his ceiling is still unknown 

Michael Johnson would beat Daniel Zellhuber by unanimous decision as Golden Boy’s gameplan to try and look for the knockout didn’t come to fruition. The repeated body kicks wasn’t enough to stop the forward pressure of Johnson as the veteran seemed aware of intentions by Zellhuber. 

With Michael Johnson now on a three fight winning streak, the Menace has begun to find his rhythm as he extends his UFC record to 16-15. While Johnson has gotten another win under his belt, there are still questions about his consistency in producing wins as he derails the hype of one of the UFC’s most exciting lightweights. 

That being said, despite Johnson having momentum on his side, the 39-year old still has 19 losses on his record, which is worrying as he still fights in arguably the UFC’s most competitive division. It’s only a matter of time until Michael Johnson’s ceiling becomes  apparent and people find out how good he can be. 

Patricio Pitbull is better than people think

After coming into UFC 318 with a lot left to be desired, Patricio Pitbull fought a tough fight against Dan Ige as both competitors showed their willingness to not back down from adversity. 

While his two UFC opponents, Yair Rodriguez, and Dan Ige have both been tough matchups, Pitbull has shown he can still compete at a high level at 38 years old. However, it’s still undetermined how good the former Bellator champion can be in the world’s toughest MMA organization. According to Fight Matrix, the average age of a UFC featherweight ranges from 28-30 years old, sparking questions on whether Pitbull can keep up with the competition or not. 

The UFC’s featherweight division has been flooded with young, hungry contenders for years and the introduction of Patricio Pitbull into the rankings brings out new potential matchups to be made. With Alexander Volkanovski’s next opponent yet to be announced, time will only tell if Pitbull can keep up with his younger competition. 

Kevin Holland’s fighting style is holding him back

Kevin Holland’s performance against Daniel Rodriguez left a bitter taste in many fans mouths as many were unsure what gameplan was for the welterweight fighter. Despite a back-and-forth brawl between two elite fighters, the talk of the bout among fans was Kevin Holland as he was starting to gain popularity for his high activity in 2025. 

After being dubbed “Big Mouth” by UFC president Dana White, Holland’s brash style of trash-talking and fighting has made him a fan favorite, coupled with his abnormal activity throughout the years. While he has had success in two UFC divisions, Holland’s fighting style of activity and talking may be working against him Trailblazer has yet to get past the top ten of Welterweight and Middleweight.

However, D-Rod’s performance against Holland goes to show how much he has improved as he now holds a three-fight winning streak and a number next to his name in the upcoming week. With Rodriguez coming back to the welterweight rankings after more than two years away, the state of the welterweight division has shifted as new fights are available to make. 

Paulo Costa’s key to success is activity

After defeating Roman Kopylov by unanimous decision in the co-main event, Paulo Costa seems to be on the right track on getting back into title contention after being out of action for more than a year. Costa’s inaction throughout the years has only hurt the former title challenger as he has fought 5 times in the last four years, with his previous win being in 2022 against Luke Rockhold. 

With Costa getting the win against a up-and-coming contender in Kopylov, the most important thing for the UFC middleweight is to stay active. By continuously fighting on a regular basis and getting wins, Costa will climb the ladder to the middleweight title picture faster than expected. 

As Costa now turns 34, it’s more important than ever for him to take advantage of time as he does not have much time left before he inevitably retires. 

Dustin Poirier’s final fight was nothing short of spectacular

How many fighters can say they got their own personalized entrance in their hometown with thunderous applause by fans? Almost no one get’s the retirement tour that Dustin Poirier had as the Louisiana native got to walk into of the Smoothie King Center with an army of supporters by his side.  

As Poirier would end his career in his home state, the Diamond shined as bright as possible in a potential fight of the year contender in his final moments in the octagon. Despite not getting the win, Poirier looked like the winner as fans and members of the UFC showed their appreciation in a video package shown after the fight. After the fight, Max Holloway showed his appreciation in a post-fight interview, stating, “This is Dustin’s retirement fight, give it up for the man!”. 

Walking out of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” was the cherry on top of one the most memorable retirements in UFC history as the future Hall of Famer left the octagon like he was the happiest man in the building.