NEW ORLEANS – Paulo Costa has seen better days, but Roman Kopylov still considers him to be at elite level.

While Waianae’s Max Holloway headlines UFC 318 on Saturday in a bout against Dustin Poirier for the BMF title, another Hawai‘i fighter will also step into the spotlight. Haleiwa native and Kahuku High School graduate Dan Ige will face former Bellator champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in a featured featherweight main card matchup at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier will finally complete their trilogy this weekend as they headline UFC 318 in New Orleans. They first clashed in 2012 before going at it again in the Octagon seven

"The Italian Dream" takes on bitter rival Brendan Allen on the preliminary card of Saturday's UFC pay-per-view event at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) and Allen (24-7 MMA, 12-4 UFC) have plenty of history, more infamously getting into a brawl on the casino floor of the Hard Rock Hotel in South Florida.

One UFC 318 fighter arrived in the promotion last year with one of the more memorable Octagon debuts in recent memory.