There was a tension in the air as the main card got underway at Prudential Center, a restlessness in the crowd after a decision-heavy preliminary card slate left the masses longing for violent action.
While a number of the contests still went the distance, the tempo, output, and intensity of the contests was clearly ramped up.
Everything built to the lightweight championship main event, where fan favorite Dustin Poirier looked to “finish his story” by claiming the undisputed title and champion Islam Makhachev aimed to continue his march to all-time great status by taking out another luminary.
Main and co-main event scheduled for five rounds, all other bouts scheduled for three rounds. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier Results
UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier Main Card Results
- Islam Makhachev defeatsDustin Poirier by Submission (D’arce choke) at 2:42 of Round 5
- Sean Strickland (46-49, 50-45) defeats Paulo Costa (49-46) by Split Decision
- Kevin Holland defeats Michal Oleksiejczuk by Technical Submission (armbar) at 1:34 of Round 1
- Niko Price (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeatsAlex Morono by Unanimous Decision
- Randy Brown (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeatsElizeu Zaleski dos Santos by Unanimous Decision
- Roman Kopylov (29-28, 30-27) defeatsCesar Almeida (29-28) by Split Decision
- Jailton Almeidadefeats Alexandr Romanov by Submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:27 of Round 1
- Grant Dawson (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) defeatsJoe Solecki by Unanimous Decision
- Jake Matthews (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) defeatsPhilip Rowe by Unanimous Decision
- Bassil Hafez (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) defeats Mickey Gall by Unanimous Decision
- Ailin Perez (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) defeatsJoselyne Edwards by Unanimous Decision
- Andre Lima (30-27, 30-27) defeatsMitch Raposo (29-28)by Split Decision
Randy Brown (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeatsElizeu Zaleski dos Santos by Unanimous Decision
Rankings hopefuls in the welterweight division Randy Brown and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos kicked off the UFC 302 main card with a competitive back-and-forth clash that went the distance.
Randy Brown Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Randy Brown Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Brown was the more active and effective striker in the first, using his range and movement to get the better things, closing out the round with a sharp flying knee. The Brazilian rebounded in the second, stinging “Rude Boy” on the feet before dominating the grappling for the majority of the round, only for Brown to reverse late and land a heavy elbow. Brown was back in his bag in the third, cutting dos Santos with another clean knee, out-striking him throughout and keeping himself upright.
The trend from the prelims of letting the judges determine the victor continued in the first main card matchup, with all three officials scoring it the same, awarding Brown his second win of the year and third straight victory overall.|Official Scorecards
Niko Price (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeatsAlex Morono by Unanimous Decision
Facing off for the second time, Niko Price and Alex Morono went the distance in a gruelling battle of attrition where Price pulled away as the fight progressed.
Niko Price punches Alex Morono in a welterweight fight during the UFC 302 event at Prudential Center on June 01, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Morono came out looking sharp and crisp, throwing and landing with crispness as Price looked to warm into the fight. As the minutes added up, Price started to have more success and Morono began to fade, with the competitive fight turning into a one-sided tussle by the time the final horn sounded.
For the eighth time in nine fights, the judges were called upon to render a verdict, and all three had the fight the same way, awarding Price the unanimous decision win. The victory snapped a two-fight skid for “The Hybrid,” who picked up his first win since defeating Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira in October 2021.|Official Scorecards
Kevin Holland vs Michal Oleksiejczuk
Kevin Holland injected some action into the UFC 302 main card, securing a first-round stoppage win over Michal Oleksiejczuk.
Kevin Holland Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Kevin Holland Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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The Polish striker floored Holland with a big left hand early, chasing the returning middleweight to the canvas in search of a finish. Holland recovered well and attacked an armbar, rolling through and maintaining control when Oleksiejczuk tried to escape. As Holland extended, the elbow popped, prompting referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight.
Back at middleweight for the first time in eight fights, Holland snapped a two-fight skid with his fourth submission win in the UFC. Win or lose, “Trailblazer” is always entertaining and should find himself in another entertaining clash in the not too distant future.|Official Scorecards
Co-Main Event: Sean Strickland (49-46, 50-45) defeats Paulo Costa (49-46) by Split Decision
Former middleweight champ Sean Strickland got things moving in the right direction again on Saturday night, out-working Paulo Costa in the UFC 302 co-main event.
Sean Strickland Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Sean Strickland Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Costa came out attacking low kicks, landing a couple heavy ones right out of the chute. But Strickland started checking those shots and getting into his rhythm, and Costa initially had no answers. Strickland continued to be the aggressor over the championship rounds, but Costa had his moments in each of those frames, making this closer than anticipated as they worked to the horn.
After 25 minutes, the judges were called upon to render a verdict, and ultimately, Strickland came away on the happy side of the split decision result. The win keeps the former titleholder near the top of the list of contenders in the middleweight division, and puts him in a position for another big fight later in the year.|Official Scorecards
Main Event: Islam Makhachev defeatsDustin Poirier by Submission (D’arce choke) at 2:42 of Round 5
Islam Makhachev remains the UFC lightweight champion after collecting a fifth-round submission win.
Islam Makhachev Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Islam Makhachev Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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The champion put Poirier on the canvas quickly in the first, advancing to his back and staying there for the remainder of the round. Poirier defended well throughout, and the remainder of the fight was more scrappy and competitive, with the challenger doing well to defend takedowns while Makhachev was forced into the first bloody, gruelling battle of his championship reign.
With both men bloodied, but dialled in heading into the final round, Makhachev caused Poirier to stumble in the center of the Octagon midway through the round, and pounced. After momentarily looking for a guillotine choke, the champion switched off to a D’arce choke and quickly drew out the tap.
That’s now three consecutive successful title defenses and 14 straight wins for Makhachev, who continues to reign supreme in the lightweight division. He’s now tied with four others for the most consecutive successful title defenses in the division and sits two wins back of Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive UFC victories.|Official Scorecards
