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Dustin Poirier's retirement card loses 16-fight UFC veteran

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Mathew Riddle | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 4:45 PM ET

UFC 318 has taken a hit, with a 16-fight UFC grappling specialist withdrawing with injuries.

Atop the card, UFC legend Dustin Poirier is set to end his career in a trilogy rematch with Max Holloway. Despite being 2-0 against Holloway, the fight has a renewed interest with the introduction of Holloway's BMF title.

The UFC 318 lineup has been less than pleasing from a fan perspective, with the BMF main event doing a lot of the heavy lifting. There isn't much name value on the card, and the news of another pullout further diminishes it.

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Gunnar Nelson withdraws from UFC 318 fight with Neil Magny

As per an announcement on Instagram, prelim fighter Gunnar Nelson is out of his fight with Neil Magny. 'Gunni' has been a mainstay in the welterweight division since 2012, with fights against Leon Edwards, Demian Maia, and Gilbert Burns.

"I've had to withdraw from my fight with Neil Magny, due to a hamstring injury," Nelson said. "I won't get into any crazy details... but I'll tell you it's a two-part injury. There is a tear in one of the muscles in the hamstring. . . It's not too bad, so it's possibly something that we could have worked with.

"However, the second injury is on the tendon inside the muscle, which is a full thickness year... that's a more serious one. ... I'm absolutely useless when it comes to any type of grappling scenarios. . . Apparently, it will be another eight weeks until I can comfortably have any type of grappling training at full speed.

". . . The good news is I won't have to do surgery, I'll hopefully be good to go at the end of the year..."

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The news continues Nelson's trend of inactivity inside the Octagon. UFC 318 would have marked Nelson's first two-fight year since 2019. He's fought a total of sixteen times in thirteen years inside the UFC.

With Nelson gone, UFC 318 is down to fourteen fights, which is still fine for a PPV.