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UFC 302: Makhachev v Poirier — Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Last night (Sat., June 1, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey for UFC 302. After a rare week off, Lightweight gold was on the line, as Dustin Poirier made one final try at the undisputed belt against dominant champion Islam Makhachev. In the co-main event, a five-round Middleweight war between Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa carried serious title implications. The rest of the card featured some solid prospects and proven action fighters, making for an entertaining night of combat.

Let’s take a look back over at UFC 302’s best performances and techniques:

A Diamond In The Rough

Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier was worlds better than any other fight on the UFC 302 card.

Makhachev dominated early with his wrestling, scoring back mount quickly. Poirier showed off good defense to stay in the fight, and he started making it count in the second! Poirier shucked off a few takedown attempts, and though he lost the kickboxing in the second, he landed a few shots. It was positive progress, and Poirier started building on that success in the third and fourth.

Makhachev really struggled to take down Poirier in the open. He capitalized on Poirier’s crouched stance with knees and uppercuts, however, carving up Poirier’s face. “The Diamond” found his own success when able to rip into the body, particularly on the break of clinches. In the fourth, he really picked up momentum, cutting open the champion with a nasty elbow.

With five minutes remaining, Makhachev was far ahead on the scorecards, but the outcome felt very up in the air. Poirier denied an early takedown attempt and landed a beautiful 1-1-2. That impossible felt like it might happen. Could we see a Poirier upset win against all odds? For a moment, the tides seemed to be shifting in his favor.

Makhachev wasn’t going down easy though. He timed a single leg well and committed hard, digging deep to spin Poirier around from his ankle. As Poirier scrambled to his feet, Makhachev jumped on a guillotine — the irony! — and used the hold to reverse Poirier to his back. Poirier tried to keep scrambling, but Makhachev switched to a d’arce choke and demonstrated his world class squeeze yet again, forcing Poirier to sleep.

It was a tremendous fight.

For Poirier, it’s a much better showing than most expected. If he retires here, it’s a proud performance to walk away on. He’s not at his athletic peak anymore, but Poirier can retire as an elite fighter who fought nothing but the best for more than a decade. Surely, he ends up in the Hall of Fame.

Makhachev’s legacy grows here with another title defense, but … was anyone truly impressed here? He dug deep and got the finish, but Makhachev was expected to win easily. Perhaps that’s unfair to the Russian, who showed off great skills in all areas en route to the victory. Yet, it’s too easy to compare his performance to that of his coach Khabib, who made it look effortless. In addition, his struggles here raise questions about whether or not a Welterweight title bid would be a good idea.

Whatever his next move, expect future opponents to study Poirier’s successes closely.

Ten Minutes Too Many

Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa didn’t need to be 25 minutes. It just wasn’t a great fight by any metric, and neither man really adjusted beyond their round one game plan. For Strickland, that’s acceptable, because he won most of the fight. Strickland jab and teep-fests are rarely that fun, but it is what it is. He got the job done.

As for Costa … what’s going wrong here? Who in Costa’s corner is insisting that Costa should be a footwork-based jab and calf kick fighter? That person should be taken behind a shed and beaten with sticks. Mobility has NEVER been Costa’s strong suit! He’s got a good right kick and some natural speed, but that’s not enough to kickbox at distance against the best.

Costa’s actual best traits are his combination punching and toughness, traits that his current approach to fighting have completely stripped from his game. It’s downright infuriating to watch — who convinced Costa he has to jab OR advance? He could do both! He could throw calf kicks, feint them, and then throw combinations moving forward. That’s a very viable option!

“Borrachinha” is wasting his potential fighting this way.

SNAP Goes The Arm!

Kevin Holland returned to the win column in style.

The fight didn’t last long nor did it start well for “Trailblazer.” Michal Oleksiejczuk stalked Holland from the first bell, cutting off the cage and sneaking punches in as he closed range. Holland was forced on the back foot, and as he tried to kick, an Oleksiejczuk left hand cracked him on the jaw and sent him to the floor.

Oleksiejczuk chased him to the floor and started dropping punches, but he was immediately in a triangle choke. The Polish striker made the bizarre decision not to address the submission AT ALL, and Holland adjusted by attacking the arm. Oleksiejczuk continued to defend poorly, and he didn’t tap either, so Holland snapped his arm!

It’s a great rebound win for Holland, who proved he’s still one of the most uniquely dangerous men on the roster. Oleksiejczuk, meanwhile, continues to be held back by his woefully mediocre grappling, which has shown little sign of improvement despite his struggles on the canvas.

A Return To Form

Jailton Almeida’s last two fights made him look bad.

The Brazilian grappling ace dominated Derek Lewis, but he couldn’t force the finish via strikes or submissions. It was 25 minutes of sitting in mount, which didn’t really impress anyone despite being the best win of his career. Then, Curtis Blaydes rallied in the second to knock him out, making everyone forget about his strong first round.

Against Alexander Romanov, Almeida returned to his usual form. Those two performances made everyone forget: “Malhadinho” is a fight-finisher! He’s stopped 20 of his 21 victories! Those are Jiri Prochazka-type numbers, yet it’s all lost after a couple disappointing showings.

Romanov learned the hard way. Almeida threw him to the floor immediately, took his back, and choked him out in short fashion. The Brazilian is going to be a problem at the top level of Heavyweight for a long time, because most big men just cannot wrestle.

Book him against Ciryl Gane ASAP!

Additional Thoughts

Bassil Hafez defeats Mickey Gall via unanimous decision: Generally, two grapplers opting to swang-n-bang is not always a recipe for fun. In this case, however, it produced a really entertaining fight! Hafez and Gall took lumps out of one another, with Gall looking noticeably sharper on the feet after a two year layoff. That sharpness paid off in the third when Gall landed some cracking straight rights, but he was already too deep in the hole due to some effective volume and takedowns from Hafez. A strong first UFC victory for “The Habibi!”

For complete UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” results and play-by-play, click HERE!