Ahead of the huge UFC 302 card set for Newark, New Jersey, this Saturday (June 1), the promotion have released the full countdown episode, taking a closer look at the evening's main and co-main event.
Islam Makhachev returns to the octagon looking to make the third defence of his Lightweight strap when he takes on Dustin Poirier.
Having claimed the title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, the champ successfully defended the title twice in 2023, both times against Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Dustin Poirier booked his place in the title fight with a stunning second round finish over the incredibly dangerous Benoit Saint-Denis, at UFC 299. In his 30 fights for the UFC, 'The Diamond' is yet to hold the full Lightweight title, having claimed the interim strap against Max Holloway before losing in the third round in his unification bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.
In the co-main event, former Middleweight champion Sean Strickland will be back in the octagon for the first time since dropping the belt to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297. It took Strickland almost a decade to claim UFC gold, a dream which he realised at UFC 293 when he the long time champion Isreal Adesanya.
In his return to the Octagon, Strickland will face Paulo Costa. Since 2020, the Brazilian has only competed four times and is 1-3 from the last four. However, not one to back down from a challenge, 'The Eraser' has faced the whose who at 185lbs including Israel Adesayna, Marvin Vettori, Luke Rockhold and most recently, Robert Whittaker.
A win over Strickland would see the number seven ranked Costa leap frog the competition and get himself close to another title shot.
Ahead of the fight night, the UFC cameras caught up with all four athletes that are set to feature in the UFC 302 main event and co-main event, to discuss their journey to the fight night.
As described on the YouTube video 'UFC 302 Countdown previews the return of the number one pound-for-pound king, Islam Makhachev, as he defends his lightweight title against former interim champion, Dustin Poirier. Plus, middleweights collide as Sean Strickland battles Paulo Costa. Main card action kicks off on Saturday, June 1st at 10pm ET / 7pm PT.'
