Over the past weekend, the co-main event of UFC 288 on May 6, 2023, featuring highly-ranked Lightweight contenders Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, was canceled. This news was announced by UFC President Dana White during UFC Kansas City. The promotion is currently working on finding a replacement fight, and No. 5-ranked Welterweight Gilbert Burns has expressed his desire to return to action. Burns recently defeated Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 on April 8, 2023, via unanimous decision. Although Burns had initially considered a fight with No. 4-ranked Belal Muhammad, that possibility seems to have fallen through. Instead, Burns is now interested in fighting Poirier, who has responded to Burns' callout. Max Holloway has no plans of leaving the featherweight division anytime soon, and he intends to challenge current champion Alex Volkanovski for the title. This decision comes after his impressive unanimous decision win over Arnold Allen in the main event of UFC Kansas City in Missouri l