UFC 302 goes down this coming Saturday from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, as Islam Makhachev looks to equal the lightweight title defense record, by beating Dustin Poirier in the main event.
Dustin Poirier is a true beneficiary of the saying ‘the right place at the right time’ after he was awarded another lightweight title shot following Arman Tsarukyan turning down the short turnaround opportunity.
‘The Diamond’ returned to the win column this past March at UFC 299 after he came from behind to knock out Benoit Saint-Denis in round two of their five-round co-main event.
Lightweight king, Islam Makhachev, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in their UFC 294 rematch this past October, and will finally defend his belt against a ranked lightweight.
If victorious in the UFC 302 main event, the Russian will equal the record for the most amount of title defenses in UFC lightweight history, with just three.
Enough waffling, let’s get into my main card predictions.
Welterweights open up the main card as Randy Brown takes on Elizeu Zaleski
‘Rudeboy’ Randy Brown opens up the main card as he takes on the Brazilian striker, Elizeu Zaleski.
Brown is looking to make it three wins in a row, with his last win being an extremely impressive knockout against Muslim Salikhov. The Jamaican is likely just outside of the rankings at welterweight, and another win here could push him into the top 15.
Zaleski on the other hand is looking to try and regain some momentum, after his last fight against Rinat Fakhretdinov ended in a majority draw. The 37-year-old is likely going to try and drag Brown to the latter rounds, where he’ll feel like he has the advantage.
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‘Rudeboy’ standing at 6ft 3 is always likely going to pose problems for whoever is across from him, and I believe his sniper-like striking will be enough to get him over the hump in this matchup.
Prediction: Randy Brown via TKO
Jailton Almeida looking to return to the win column as he takes on Alexandr Romanov
Jailton Almeida was one win away from likely fighting Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight title, but the dominant Brazilian came unstuck against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 this past March.
After suffering his first loss in 15 fights, the 32-year-old went back to the drawing board and accepted a fight against the number 13 ranked heavyweight, Alexandr Romanov.
At one point, Romanov was being looked at as a new breed of heavyweight after dominating during his first five UFC fights. However, losses to Marcin Tybura and Alexander Volkov put a stop to the Moldovan’s rise and he lost a lot of his hype.
Despite that, the 33-year-old returned to the win column last July by edging a decision win against Blagoy Ivanov.
‘Malhadinho’ is by far the more athletic fighter in this matchup and he possesses a big striking advantage. Not only that, but Almeida’s dominant level of grappling will be enough to pose a big threat to Romanov in this fight.
Prediction: Jailton Almeida via TKO
Kevin Holland will look to steal the show with a win over Michal Oleksiejczuk
After suffering back-to-back losses, Kevin Holland will undoubtedly be looking to steal the show at UFC 302, as he takes on Michal Oleksiejczuk.
‘The Trailblazer’ welcomed Michael ‘Venom’ Page to the promotion in his last outing at UFC 299 and was unfortunately dominated by the slick striker. Still ranked in the top 15 at 170lbs, Holland is looking to keep his number by handing Oleksiejczuk his second loss in a row.
The Pole was submitted by Michel Pereira in his last outing and is 3-2 in his last five fights, struggling to gain momentum.
Admittedly, when this bout was announced I was quite surprised, as from a matchmaker perspective, it doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.
I believe Holland will bounce back with a win over ‘Hussar’ and will keep his spot in the 170lb rankings.
Prediction: Kevin Holland via decision
Sean Strickland takes on Paulo Costa in blockbuster 5-round co-main event
Although he campaigned for an immediate rematch against Dricus Du Plessis, former middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, had to settle for a co-main event against Paulo Costa.
For a short period, it seemed as though this fight would be scrapped after Strickland took to social media to claim that Costa had yet to sign the contract, despite the fight having been officially announced.
Fortunately though, ‘Borrachinha’ was just doing typical ‘Borrachinha’ things and the fight remained on the card.
With the rest of the card not being entirely that strong, the UFC decided to make it a five-round co-main event, with this heavily favoring the style and experience of ‘Tarzan’.
The Brazilian will likely try and make the fight scrappy, to begin with, but will need to hope that he doesn’t gas out too quickly.
Costa is undoubtedly the more athletic and powerful striker in this matchup, but Strickland has the experience to nullify the majority of the danger he will be faced with. I believe the gas tank and forward pressure of Strickland will win him this fight, and put him on the verge of another title shot.
Prediction: Sean Strickland via decision
Dustin Poirier hoping third time is the charm as Islam Makhachev looks to equal record
UFC main events don’t get much more high stakes than this.
Islam Makhachev is looking to equal the division record for the most amount of title defenses, hoping to put his name on the list with his coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
‘The Diamond’, though, is hoping that he will finally realize UFC gold in his third and likely final attempt, after hinting that this could be his final fight in the UFC if things don’t go his way.
Although the 35-year-old has always been transparent that he doesn’t want to stick around for too long, and feels like he has one last title push, admitting that you’re considering retirement ahead of the biggest fight of your career is quite the concern.
The Louisianan probably didn’t expect that he’d be in this position two months ago, but he now has to make the most of the opportunity, and try and pull off the unimaginable.
Poirier does hold the striking advantage in this matchup, but even then it is only ever so slight, in my opinion. Makhachev’s striking is extremely underrated, and he showcased that in his fights against Alexander Volkanovski, albeit holding a big size advantage.
As well as the huge grappling advantage, the Russian’s clinch work is another edge that he has in this fight and is something that I think will pay dividends for him.
Unfortunately for the hardcore MMA fanbase, I don’t see a way in which Poirier shines bright like a diamond in this fight, and I see Makhachev retaining the 155lb strap.
Prediction: Islam Makhachev via submission