UFC 302: The last chance for Dustin Poirier

Michael Bolton

The lightweight belt is on the line in the main event at UFC 302, as Islam Makhachev defends his title against Dustin Poirier in the early hours of Sunday morning Irish time.

With wins over the likes of Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez, alongside an interim title, it has been quite the journey for Poirier.

The one thing that has escaped him however, is the undisputed title. A submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019, was followed by another loss via submission to Charles Oliveria.

He has hinted this could be his final fight, but his knockout victory over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 shows he can still compete with the next generation in the sport.

Standing in his way of his long-awaited title is Makhachev, who has not lost for eight years and is on a 13 fight-win streak.

Following back-to-back wins over Alexander Volkanovski, including a head kick knockout over the former featherweight champion, Makhachev was made to wait for his next opponent.

Expect him to put pressure on Poirier with his wrestling, and will look for the submission at every opportunity.

If this becomes a striking battle, Poirier will fancy his chances of victory, but as Mackachev showed against Volkanovski, his striking is improving with every fight.

In the co-main event, it is a battle in the middleweight division as former champion Sean Strickland takes on Paulo Costa.

This is the first fight for Strickland since losing the belt to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 in a split-decision loss.

In his first step to getting back into title contention, he will face Costa, who is hoping to bounce back from defeat against Robert Whittaker at UFC 298.

As of now, it is unclear what the picture is for the middleweight division. With rumours of Du Plessis defending against Adesanya next, and Whittaker taking on Khamzat Chimaev later this month, an impressive performance could see Strickland or Costa skip the line.

As it is five-rounds, Strickland will use his pressure and volume to overwhelm Costa, while Costa will back himself to have the power to try to end the bout in the distance.

Elsewhere, Kevin Holland moves back up to middleweight to face Michal Oleksiejczuk.

Holland's last bout saw him lose to Michael Venom Page at UFC 299, while Oleksiejczuk was submitted by Michel Pereira in round one on the same card.

Holland has had success since drooping back to 170, but is always keen on remaining active. He revealed earlier this week he was offered a bout against Nick Diaz, but did not want to wait until August.

While covergae will be TNT Sports, Irish MMA fans will be delighted to hear Virgin Media will provide a highlights show on Virgin Media Two on Tuedays at 11pm, and are planning to show two live events in 2024.