The UFC heads to the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, for UFC 302 this Saturday (June 1) with an action packed 12 bout card, with the Lightweight title on the line at the top of the bill.
In the main event, Islam Makhachev will look to defend his Lightweight title against the ever dangerous Dustin Poirier. The bout will mark Makhachev’s first of the year, having last fought in October when he stopped former Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the first round of their rematch. Poirier is just over three months removed from his UFC 299 bout, in which he faced Benoit Saint-Denis. In what could have been an extremely dangerous bout for Poirier, ‘The Diamond’ called upon all of his experience to become the first man to stop the Frenchman, with a second round TKO.
In the co-main event, former Middleweight champion Sean Strickland faces the number seven ranked Paulo Costa. Strickland returns to the octagon for the first time since dropping his title to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297. After almost two years on the sidelines, Costa is looking to make the most of his 2024, having already competed once this year in which he dropped a unanimous decision to Robert Whittaker.
Elsewhere on the card, Kevin Holland is back in action in a Middleweight bout against Michal Oleksiejczuk. Both men have been struggling to find consistent form, with Holland currently 2-4 in his last six and Oleksiejczuk 3-3. Both men are in need of a victory and the bout could well be one of the fights of the night. Jailton Almeida is back in action for the first time since his first promotional loss, to Curtis Blaydes, at UFC 299. The Brazilian will take on Moldovan, Alexandr Romanov, who stopped his two fight losing streak with a unanimous decision win against Blagoy Ivanov in July 2023.
Opening up the main card, Randy Brown will be looking to continue his impressive run of form at the minute against Elizeu Zaleski. The Brazilian is no stranger to derailing hype trains, having beat Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Beniot Saint Denis in two of his last three bouts.
Micky Gall will make the walk to the octagon for the first time in over two years, when he faces Bassil Hafez. Niko Price and Alex Morono will square off in a Welterweight clash, Grant Dawson and Joe Solecki are scheduled to clash in a Lightweight contest with the unbeaten Brazilian Andre Lima opening proceedings against Mitch Raposo.
Ahead of the event, the UFC’s “Embedded” cameras are following the fighters behind the scenes as they work their way through fight week, as they arrive in Abu Dhabi and go through their pre-fight media obligations before the weigh-ins and the final faceoffs ahead of fight night.
As described on the UFC’s official YouTube channel, in Episode 4 ' Holland touches down in Newark. Makhachev signs posters and gets some cardio in. Costa goes for a swim. Poirier, Strickland, and Rowe entertain the media while Matthews tours New York City.'
