Bo Bichette picks a side as Dustin Poirier faces Max Holloway in retirement fight at UFC 318

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette is an avid combat sports fan, having attended events live from the arena during the offseason. Bichette recently revealed who he will cheer for in the upcoming UFC 318 main event at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

The PPV headliner features Max Holloway, defending his BMF title against Dustin Poirier, who will leave his gloves inside the Octagon after the fight. On Friday, Sportsnet interviewed Bo Bichette, asking him to pick who he would support.

"Obviously two great fighters, but I'm rooting for Max, " Bichette said. "I would love to see Max win. So, hopefully Max gets another shot, maybe at '[Ilia] Topuria or something like that. So, I'm rooting for Max."

In addition to Bo Bichette, the Toronto Blue Jays organization also supports Holloway, as they gave him a team jersey with the number 10. Holloway won the interim featherweight title by defeating Anthony Pettis in Toronto at UFC 206 in December 2016.

Folllowing the victory, Holloway proclaimed the city the 10th island, as many Hawaiians have relocated there. Holloway is a Hawaiian, born in Honolulu.

Nonetheless, the event is catered to Poirier's retirement as it is in his home state, Lafayette. Poirier is a native, and the UFC returned to hold an event in the state after over ten years, specifically to give "The Diamond" a fitting farewell.

The fight will be the third between Poirier and Holloway. "The Diamond" is 2-0 against "Blessed." After defeating Holloway by submission in his promotional debut at UFC 143, Poirier defeated him by decision at UFC 236 to become the interim lightweight champion.

Like Bo Bichette mentioned, a victory for Holloway would potentially give him a crack at the lightweight title, currently held by Ilia Topuria. Holloway has a history with Topuria, having lost to him in a featherweight title fight at UFC 308.

Bo Bichette makes an ideal UFC fighter with Blue Jays players

Bo Bichette won't likely be able to watch UFC 318 as it is on the same time as the Blue Jays' series finale against the San Francisco Giants at the Rogers Centre. However, the MMA fan in him will eagerly be looking at the results.

On Monday, Sportsnet interviewed Bichette, where the shortstop was asked to connect specific fighting skills with his Blue Jays teammates to make a hypothetical ideal fighter. The five skills are power, speed, fight IQ, grappling, and durability.

He picked Yimi Garcia, the 34-year-old reliever from the Dominican Republic, for his power. For speed, he went with versatile utility man Ernie Clement. When it came to fight IQ, Bichette chose himself.

Gold Glove outfielder Daulton Varsho earned the nod for grappling, while 40-year-old ace Max Scherzer was picked for his durability.

Bo Bichette's last live appearance for a UFC fight was in December. Bichette, among many notable MLB superstars like Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso, was at the Amalie Arena in Tampa to watch the fight night event headlined by Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley.

Notably, the event also marked the hard launch of his new look. Bichette surprised fans by debuting a dramatic change. His signature long hair was gone, replaced by a sharp, short cut that left many doing a double-take.

Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer