Holloway vs. Poirier overshadowed by unexpected "Fight of the Night"

Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori delivered a show-stopping performance at UFC 318, outshining several other bouts worthy of "Fight of the Night" consideration.

The light heavyweight rivals each took home an extra $50,000 bonus after their thrilling battle earned them "Fight of the Night" honours.

Their performance overshadowed even the highly anticipated trilogy fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier, which marked the end of Poirier's legendary career, and the wild welterweight clash between Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland.

The Allen-Vettori clash was the highlight of the early preliminary bouts, where the first six fights on the card all ended in either a knockout or submission.

Allen ultimately secured the victory by decision, overcoming the resilient Vettori, who continued to trade blows until the final bell, maintaining his record of never being knocked out or submitted.

This marks Allen's first "Fight of the Night" bonus, while Vettori earns the accolade for the third time.

"Performance of the Night" bonuses were awarded to Aiemann Zahabi, Islam Dulatov, and Karlee Judice. Zahabi needed only 70 seconds to knock out Robert Valentin.

Dulatov achieved a powerful first-round knockout against Adam Fugitt. Judice finished Nicole Caliari with a brutal body shot in the third round.