UFC 302 currently has an official main event and co-main event.
The pay-per-view event, to be held June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, will feature one championship bout and two five-round fights.
UFC CEO Dana White announced Saturday that lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will defend his title against Dustin Poirier after UFC 300. Additionally, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland will take on Paulo Costa in a five-round co-main event.
Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) is looking to make his third successful title defense and his first against someone other than Alexander Volkanovski. Makhachev enters the match riding on a 13-game winning streak.
Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) will have a rare third chance at UFC title gold after two failed attempts. Poirier's first title challenge came in 2019 against Makhachev's mentor and friend, Khabib Nurmagomedov. He challenged for the title in 2021 but lost to Charles Oliveira. Both losses were submissions.
However, Poirier has always found a way to bounce back even after losing a title and get back to the next position. He has won two of his last three fights, including a knockout of Benoit St. Denis in March.
Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) and Costa (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) have been in a war of words on social media in recent weeks, with both fighters It shows that you are interested in the game. The conditions were right.
The UFC says an agreement has been reached, giving Strickland a date and opponent in his bid to bounce back after losing the title to Drikas du Plessis in January.
Costa has 1 win and 3 losses in his last four games. He recently lost to Robert Whittaker in a spirited three-round co-main event.
With the additions, the lineup for UFC 302 is:
- Champion Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – Lightweight Title Fight
- Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa – 5 round co-main event
- Roman Dorise vs. Anthony Hernandez
- Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Romanov
- Joselyn Edwards vs. Aylin Perez
- Mickey Gall vs. Bashir Hafez
- Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
- Jake Matthews vs. Phil Lowe
- Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
- Nico Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
- Sue Mdazi vs. Joshua Vann
- Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
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