Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is making its return to “The Garden State” this weekend for the upcoming UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for Sat., June 1, 2024 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Headlining the card will be the lightweight title fight between reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev and former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier. The UFC 302 PPV co-main event will feature an important middleweight matchup between former 185-pound champion Sean Strickland and one-time title challenger Paulo Costa.
Check out their “Countdown to UFC 302” video special embedded above.
“I feel like I can climb my way back up the way I have over and over again,” Poirier told Yahoo Sports. “It’s just, do I have it in me? Do I want to do that? I’ve been doing it for so many years, grinding tooth and nail, fighting my way up this ladder to try to be No. 1. The goal is to be the undisputed world champion. That’s the only thing I have left to do in this sport. I want to finish the story and be the champion forever. That’s my goal.”
Makhachev has goals of his own.
“Dustin, he is a warrior, legend — he has more than everybody experience in this sport,” Makhachev told TMZ Sports. “But his problem is his style. That’s the one problem this guy has. His weak point is wrestling and grappling, and I have the key for the easy fight. And if I follow the plan, I can beat him easy. My style and Khabib’s style, it’s worst style for Dustin. People who can can take him down, hold him there, it always gives him problems.”
For the rest of the UFC 302 fight card and PPV lineup click here.