UFC 302 Preview
The UFC will be returning to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, June 1 for UFC 302. The main event will be for the lightweight title as champion Islam Makhachev will defend against former interim champion #4 Dustin Poirier.
Makhachev has won 13 straight fights and is coming off two successful title defenses against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. He most recently defeated Volkanovski by a devastating first round KO at UFC 294 in October.
The champion confidently reflected on Poirier’s first title shot back in 2019 against his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov. “Honestly, he’s the same,” Makhachev said. “Maybe [he’s older]. He doesn’t believe he can beat me. His coach doesn’t believe he can beat me. I know I can make this fight easy.
“I will finish him. Because I am on a different level. I am the best fighter in the world right now.”
Makhachev does not believe Poirier has the skills to defeat him. “Honestly, my style is the worst style for him,” Makhachev said. “He can beat some strikers. He’s one of the best strikers in this game, but we’re not strikers. We’re MMA fighters. My skills are on a different level.
“I can strike with him, but I told you guys, if I want to make this fight easy, I know the way and everybody [else] know the way. Always when his opponent pressure him, take him down, he has the same problems always.”
Despite the confidence, Makhachev does have respect for the legacy that Poirier has built. “I hope he [doesn’t] retire after this fight,” Makhachev said of Poirier. “I think he’s one of the biggest names in the sport. That’s why I respect him. I respect him because he has a lot of crazy fights in this sport. Just happy to beat someone who has a big name like Dustin. For the legacy, it’s going to be maybe the biggest name on my list.”
The 32-year-old commented on the rumors that he will be moving to welterweight with a win on Saturday. “Honestly, I think it's my opinion, (I’m) almost done with my division because who is going to be next? Just Arman (Tsarukyan),” he said. “I already beat (him), and, in my division, I don't have some interesting fight (or) too exciting fights for me. We have Dustin right now. This guy is a legend. It's a very good fight for my legacy. I will finish him, and I just will wait for the next go.”
Makhachev wants to put on a show in Newark. “Fans always want to see the finish,” he said. “It's what I will try to do in beating Dustin Poirier.”
Poirier is coming off a second round KO of Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 in March. The win was a big rebound after being KO’d in a rematch with Justin Gaethje for the BMF belt in 2023. The 35-year-old has twice challenged for the lightweight title but lost by third round submission in both attempts.
Does he believe the third time’s the charm? "I can definitely win this fight," Poirier said. "If I touch his chin, he'll go down. He'll find that out on Saturday. Maybe that's something he doesn't need to believe. Maybe he needs to be positive and confident walking into this, which he should be, but if you don't think I have a chance to win you're lying to yourself."
"Over the years, if there's anything I've learned fighting is like the media, my opponents, their camps, the critics don't matter. It's in my hands," Poirier continued. "I'm the only guy who has the opportunity to make this happen, or whatever decisions I make under those lights on Saturday, I'm the guy in the driver's seat. All these other guys talking are passengers, or in the backseat. I steer where this goes."
Poirier commented on the rumors that this could be his final fight. "It could be (my last fight). It could be. I haven't made like an official decision yet, but it could be," he said. "I've said this over and over again. I still have a lot of tread on the tired. I can beat these guys. I can beat these young guys. I just did it. I still feel good. My body feels good, but it's just like how much do I want to give to this sport because you don't ride for free."
The only thing missing from Poirier’s resume is being undisputed champion. He commented,
“I have a UFC title, that says ‘world champion’ with my name on it, in my living room,” Poirier said. “I hold that belt up high because Max [Holloway], when I beat him for that belt, was on a 12-fight win streak. He was the current featherweight champion at the time. So it’s not like I pulled the name out of a hat and beat somebody for an interim title because the champ couldn’t fight.”
“It’s up there, but it’s not undisputed,” Poirier adds. “That’s the last spot. What else can I do in this sport?”
He concluded, “It’s not about the money. It’s not about the Hall of Fame, any records. It’s about me accomplishing something,” said Poirier of his motivation. “It’s not about business; it’s a personal thing that, I think if I can get it done, I can look back and say, ‘You know, I’m content. I’m proud of everything I did. I set a goal out as a kid that knew nothing about what I was walking into, but I kept walking about picking myself up, and I got it done.”
Poirier has been fighting in the UFC since 2011 and has key victories over Micheal Chandler, Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Max Holloway (twice), Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller and Bobby Green. Despite all of the success, a win over Makhachev who is heavily favored would be the biggest victory of his hall of fame career.
The co-main event of the evening will be in the middleweight division between former champion #1 Sean Strickland and former title challenger #7 Paulo Costa.
Strickland is trying to rebound from a loss in his first title defense against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 in January. Strickland lost a controversial split decision in a fight that many people thought he won. Strickland won the title with a unanimous decision victory over middleweight great Israel Adesanya in the biggest upset of 2023.
The former champion commented on his last fight and why he took a fight with Costa. At the end of the day, I know I won my last fight,” he said. “I got f***ed… I mean, obviously, I want the title fight, but, at the end of the day, I'm a fighter. I'm a prize fighter. So, you give me money, I fight, but that's what I want. That needs to happen.”
Strickland expects a brutal battle with Costa. “I think we're in a war,” Strickland said. “I think it's going to be a five-round war. We'll see how his cardio holds up. I know he has an issue with that. Hopefully he f***ing trained hard and he's doing the right things and preparing for our death match.”
With a win at UFC 302 it would be fair to say Strickland’s next fight should be for the title. There have been talks of du Plessis making his first title defense against Adesanya, but with a convincing win over Costa it would be difficult to deny Strickland his shot.
Costa is trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in February. The Brazilian is 1-2 since losing a title fight to Adesanya back in 2020, but he feels the best he has felt in recent years.
“After (my last) fight, I was feeling good with no injuries. I didn’t hurt, so why not?” Costa said. “Why not keep the process, not lose all the work I did for that fight and just keep the progress, keep the work? So we did that and we had a great match. First, it was against Cannonier and then it changed for Strickland. So why not? I’m feeling good, in shape and we’ve got this great opportunity.”
The 33-year-old talked about the title picture and where a win over Strickland puts him. “I think once he already beat (Israel) Adesanya, if Adesanya beat Dricus (Du Plessis), I think and if Sean beats me, he’s going to be the next. But let’s see. You never know. I have a beef with Adesanya, as well, and against Chimaev. Anything can happen. Let’s see Saturday. I think who delivers better is going to step in front. It depends how the fight is going to be. If I knock out him in great style Saturday. If the fight in Saudi Arabia is not so good, we can be in front. It depends on how we’re going to perform.”
A victory over Strickland will remind the middleweight division and the MMA world why Costa was once the most hyped fighter at 185 pounds and challenged for the middleweight title.
The rest of the main card:
Middleweight - #15 Kevin Holland vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk
Welterweight - Niko Price vs. Alex Morono
Welterweight - Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
ESPN+ Prelims:
Middleweight - César Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
Heavyweight - #7 Jailton Almeida vs. #13 Alexander Romanov
Lightweight - Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
Welterweight - Philip Rowe vs. Jake Matthews
ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims:
Welterweight - Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
Women's Bantamweight - Ailín Pérez vs. Joselyne Edwards
Flyweight - Mitch Raposo vs. André Lima
