UFC 302 Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier: Fight Card, Date, Time, Telecast & Live Streaming Info

UFC 302 will mark the return of the UFC Lightweight Champion

Saturday marks the UFC’s tenth visit to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which has hosted some unforgettable events. Georges St-Pierre beat Dan Hardy at “The Rock” in 2010. Jon Jones made history as the youngest UFC champion ever when he defeated “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128, and then successfully defended his light heavyweight title against Chael Sonnen two years later.

Renan Barão and Jose Aldo performed a Nova Uniao title defense double-up at UFC 169, Luke Rockhold stamped his way to his UFC 194 championship bout with Chris Weidman there, and, most recently, Diego Lopes presented himself to the world with his breakout performance against Movsar Evloev at UFC 288.

The main event of UFC 302 will see Islam Makhachev defending his lightweight belt for the third bout against former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier.

UFC 302 Main Event Card

• Islam Makhachev (c) vs Dustin Poirier – UFC Lightweight championship
• Sean Strickland vs Paulo Costa
• Kevin Holland vs Michal Oleksiejczuk
• Jailton Almeida vs Alexandr Romanov
• Randy Brown vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

UFC 302 Prelims Card

• Cesar Almeida vs Roman Kopylov
• Grant Dawson vs Joe Solecki
• Phil Rowe vs Jake Matthews
• Niko Price vs Alex Morono
• Mickey Gall vs Bassil Hafez
• Ailin Perez vs Joselyne Edwards
• Andre Lima vs Mitch Raposo

Randy Brown vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

The main event begins with a welterweight fight between Randy Brown and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Brown, one of the more underappreciated opponents in the 170-pound ranks in recent years, comes off a stunning knockout victory over Muslim Salikhov in February and has won eight of his previous ten fights. In many respects, the same can be said about dos Santos, who enters UFC 302 unbeaten in his past three fights and with a 10-2-1 record in his previous 13 appearances.

Jailton Almeida vs Alexandr Romanov

Jailton Almeida and Alexandr Romanov will battle in this potentially exciting heavyweight bout. “Malhadinho” began his UFC career with six consecutive victories, rocketing into contention after three wins last year, only to have his rise halted by Curtis Blaydes in March.

Romanov began equally hot, winning five straight fights after entering the Octagon, and returns to Jersey after ending a two-fight losing streak with a good performance last July.

Kevin Holland vs Michal Oleksiejczuk

Speaking of middleweight fights, Kevin Holland returns to the ring at 185 pounds for this main-event matchup with Michal Oleksiejczuk. Holland’s previous eight fights have gone in four sets of two, with a pair of victories to start his welterweight career, followed by back-to-back losses until winning his first two fights in 2023.

After losing a split decision to Jack Della Maddalena at the end of last year, he landed on the wrong side of the cards against Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 299, bringing him into this fight aiming to maintain his current trend and go back into the win column.

Oleksiejczuk’s UFC career has been similarly uneven, with the 29-year-old Polish fighter never winning or losing more than two consecutive fights in his first 13 outings. He’s 3-2 since moving to middleweight, with losses to currently rated Brazilians Caio Borralho and Michel Pereira.

Sean Strickland vs Paulo Costa

In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland will face perennial contender Paulo Costa over five rounds. After startling the world by decisively winning the crown last fall, Strickland lost the title in a close, tough encounter with Dricus Du Plessis in January, ending his modest three-fight victory run.

Costa arrives for this co-main event following a tough fight against Robert Whittaker in February, marking the first time he has competed twice in the same calendar year since fighting three times in 2017.

Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier

UFC 302 concludes with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev defending his championship against Dustin Poirier, a former interim champ and two-time title contender.

Makhachev had two outings in his debut year at the top of the league, both against Alexander Volkanovski. In his first fight, he outworked and eventually outlasted the former featherweight champion, and in his second, he defeated “Alexander the Great” in the opening round to take the pound-for-pound title.

Poirier comes into Newark off a second-round stoppage win over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299, which allowed him to fast rebound from his knockout defeat to Justin Gaethje last summer and earn a third chance to battle for the undisputed championship.

UFC 302: Date, Time and Venue

The event will take place on Saturday (June 1) at the Prudential Center – Newark, New Jersey, USA. And, because of the time difference in India, the event will begin early on Sunday morning (May 12).

The preliminary schedule begins at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT / 11 PM GMT (Saturday, June 1) | 4:30 AM IST (Sunday, June 2). Meanwhile, the main event begins at 10 PM ET / 7 PM PT (Saturday, June 1) | 7:30 AM IST (Sunday, June 2).

Where to watch?

To catch all the action of UFC 302, tune in to the ESPN+ Pay-Per-View (PPV) platform. UFC enthusiasts can access the event through ESPN+ for an exclusive viewing experience. Don’t miss out on the epic showdowns and pivotal matchups – subscribe to ESPN+ PPV and witness the thrill of UFC 302 from the comfort of your screen.

For fans in India UFC 302 will be live streamed on SonyLiv.

Where to watch UFC 302 in India?

UFC 302 will be aired live on Sony Sports Network in India. UFC St. Louis can be streamed live on www.sonyliv.com in India.

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