NEW ORLEANS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday's UFC 318 fighter weigh-ins. The early weigh-ins take place at the UFC host hotel in New Orleans and precede the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 6 p.m. ET at Smoothie King Center. The same venue hosts Saturday's event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

The UFC is back in New Orleans to grant former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier a proper sendoff for an otherwise legendary MMA career by concluding

SportsLine's Daniel Vithlani reveals his picks for the UFC 318 fight card from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday

Dustin Poirier puts a bow on his legendary career Saturday with one final homecoming clash in New Orleans against BMF champ Max Holloway.

With 14 scheduled fights, UFC 318 will almost certainly feature some highlight-reel finishes and boasts several fighters that are serious knockout threats.

Dustin Poirier really is going for the fairytale ending to his career with a fight booked against Max Holloway in his home state of Louisiana at UFC 318. Jon Jones barely let the ink dry on his retirement paperwork before declaring his intention to return but Poirier’s longtime head coach Mike Brown really does believes this is the final fight for the one-time interim UFC lightweight champion.

Daniel Cormier has two people in mind to put the BMF belt around the UFC 318 winner. Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) defends his BMF title in a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) on Saturday (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.