Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight championship against third-time title challenger Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 302 on Saturday, June 1, in Newark, New Jersey. In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland will look to get back on the title track against fellow contender Paulo Costa.
Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale and Dre Waters will provide match-by-match updates and analysis, key moments, along with sights and sounds from the ground in Newark. Here are the 12 bouts confirmed for UFC 302, along with key storylines, the latest buzz, how to watch the event and more.
How to watch a fight
UFC 302 fight card
ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
Lightweight champion: Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Dustin Poirier
Middleweight: Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa
Middleweight: Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Welterweight: Niko Price vs. Alex Morono
Welterweight: Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
ESPN2/ESPN+, at 8 p.m
Middleweight: Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Romanov
Lightweight: Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
Welterweight: Phil Rowe vs. Jake Matthews
ESPN+, 6:30 p.m
Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs Bassil Hafez
Women’s bantamweight: Ailin Perez vs. Joselyn Edwards
Men’s flyweight class: Mitch Raposo vs. Andre Lima
(c) = defending champion
Interview: Dustin Poirier on UFC 302, his legacy and more
‘Destiny doesn’t make mistakes’: Dustin Poirier is on the cusp of finishing the UFC story
“I feel like there’s a knock on the door,” Poirier told ESPN of his ongoing aspirations to become a lightweight champion. “If I win the undisputed belt on June 1, you can stack your résumé against any other 155-pound fighter in the world. I think I’m close to being the greatest.”
His resume includes almost everything Poirier has planned for the past 20 years. Poirier is the only man to beat Conor McGregor twice and has had a career full of fights against former world champions and fighters who regularly hover at the top of the subjective pound-for-pound list: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Anthony Pettis and more. Some are still fighting some have been fighting for a long time. But Poirier is still standing, still fighting and still one of the most beloved figures in all of MMA.
“I’ve checked every box except the one that says, ‘undisputed champion,'” Poirier said. “That’s the box I want to check. All the other boxes have been checked on the way to this goal. It’s a byproduct of me trying to be the best in the world. I’m still chasing that.”
Capturing the elusive title on his third try — in an arena where he lives on Lafayette Street with his wife and 7-year-old daughter nearby — will go down in the history books as arguably the greatest mixed martial artist to never win. UFC champion.
Read the story.
UFC 302 storylines: Makhachev’s next big test and debut of new gloves
A little over a month ago, fans witnessed one of the most dynamic fight cards in the history of mixed martial arts. The night of the celebration is such a tough act to follow that the sport is already suffering from UFC 300 hangover.
But this weekend brought a gentle antidote.
UFC 302, which goes down in Newark, New Jersey, is nowhere near as stacked from top to bottom as April’s milestone event, but the headline attraction is as good as it gets. Pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight championship against heavyweight champion Dustin Poirier. It’s a fight that doesn’t require any additional selling points, but there is one thing: Poirier, at 35 years old, will make one last bid for gold.
While UFC 302 didn’t boast wall-to-wall star power, there was intrigue up and down the fight lines. Here are some of the storylines we’ll see.
Read the story.
UFC title matchup projections: Betting experts break down Makhachev-Poirier and more
At UFC 302, Poirier will be the biggest underdog on the card, and the numbers agree he has an uphill battle. While Poirier uses a strong and technical attack, Makhachev counters with good defense and is able to attack with his own power, albeit at a slower pace. Poirier averaged three times faster than Makhachev. Unfortunately for Poirier, he also ate a lot of shots. So he will be a busier striker, but still vulnerable on the counter.
And only when the fight is standing, because Makhachev will certainly try many takedowns. Poirier’s level of takedown defense is only average, and he’s a bit too willing to fight his back. Poirier needs to finish. If not, he might end up spending a lot of time losing points on the carpet. –Reed Kuhn
Read the story.
