Tag: UFC 302

Kevin Holland returns to middleweight, meets Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302 in Newark

It’s been a few years, but Kevin Holland will try to right his ship at middleweight at UFC 302.

It’s been a few years, but [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] will try to right his ship at middleweight at UFC 302.

Holland (25-11 MMA, 12-8 UFC) will move up from welterweight to meet [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at 185 pounds when the UFC returns to New Jersey next month. Promotion officials announced the new booking during the UFC on ESPN 56 broadcast from St. Louis.

UFC 302 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Holland has back-to-back losses to Jack Della Maddalena and Michael Page, both by decision, at welterweight. Those setbacks came on the heels of two of the biggest wins of his career – stoppages of Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michael Chiesa, the latter of which was a bonus winner at UFC 291 10 months ago.

Oleksiejczuk is just a couple months removed from a 61-second submission loss to Michel Pereira at UFC 299 in Miami. He was looking to put together a winning streak after a bonus-winning first-round TKO of Chidi Njokuani in August 2023, but now will have to try to avoid his first losing skid since 2019-2020.

With the addition, the UFC 302 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
  • Paulo Costa vs. Sean Strickland
  • Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Alex Morono vs. Niko Price
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
  • Andre Lima vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
  • Tatsuro Taira vs. Joshua Van

Islam Makhachev predicts guillotine choke will lead to Dustin Poirier’s downfall at UFC 302

Islam Makhachev warns Dustin Poirier not to jump the guillotine when they fight.

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] warns [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] not to jump the guillotine when they fight.

Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) defends his lightweight title against Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in the UFC 302 headliner June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Going against his corner’s advice, Poirier attempted multiple guillotine chokes to fend off Benoit Saint Denis’ grappling in their UFC 299 co-main event in March. But after failing to secure it, he resorted to his boxing, which he used to spark the Frenchman in Round 2.

Poirier laughed when he said he has no plans of abandoning his desire to secure his first win by guillotine choke against Makhachev. However, the champion says Poirier’s attempt will lead to the fight-ending sequence.

“We will start and I will try to take him down,” Makhachev told Yahoo Sports. “He will try to get me in a guillotine (choke). I will defend the guillotine. I will give him a couple punches. He will give his back, then I will finish.”

Poirier cinched in what looked like a deep guillotine choke on Makhachev’s mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov in their title fight at UFC 242, but Nurmagomedov popped out of it. Poirier was eventually submitted in Round 3.

“One day maybe, I hope (Poirier) will finish his guillotine on someone,” Makhachev said. “But it’s not going to be me.”

In the meantime, “The Diamond” is having some fun with it, to the point of creating his own merchandise.

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For more on the cards, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Benoit Saint Denis: Islam Makhachev favored at UFC 302, but ‘nobody can give Dustin Poirier no chance’

Benoit Saint Denis says you can’t completely rule out Dustin Poirier’s chances of beating Islam Makhachev at UFC 302.

[autotag]Benoit Saint Denis[/autotag] says you can’t completely rule out [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]’s chances of beating [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].

Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) challenges Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) for the lightweight title in the UFC 302 headliner June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Poirier closed as an underdog when he knocked out Saint Denis (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) to earn a shot at Makhachev. The odds are stacked against him once again when he takes on the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, but Saint Denis thinks “The Diamond” has the skills to pull off an upset.

“He’s precise, he’s well rounded, he’s composed,” Saint Denis told MMA Junkie of Poirier. “He’s able to weather the storm, a lot of experience, tough guy. Nobody can give Poirier no chance at all at winning any fight in the lightweight division. Of course, Makhachev is well rounded. He will be well prepared. I do know what type of game plan Makhachev is going to have against Poirier.

“It’s very obvious. He will try to follow (Nurmagomedov’s) steps or Charles Oliveira’s steps because it seems to be the easiest path to victory against Poirier, but Poirier will work on that, as well. He’s also well rounded, and it will be a great fight. He can get it done, but of course the favorite is the champion.”

Poirier wasn’t the initial choice for Makhachev’s next title defense, but after Arman Tsarukyan declined a short-notice opportunity, Poirier received the call.

Saint Denis isn’t surprised to see Poirier be the one.

“Not at all,” Saint Denis said. “It’s all a question of calendars. If you look at who is booked and who is not and who has faced who, the age, the placement of these guys, the grind, it’s not something undeserved. A lot of guys deserve the title shot, but this time it was him. He did great, so well deserved.”

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For more on the cards, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Sean Strickland’s coach: UFC considered Khamzat Chimaev matchup before Paulo Costa booking

Sean Strickland’s inability to travel to Saudi Arabia may have cost him a UFC main event with Khamzat Chimaev, says coach Eric Nicksick.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] had options after losing the UFC middleweight title but wound up with [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag].

Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) takes on Costa (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the UFC 302 co-main event June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. But before the Costa match became official, Strickland’s head coach, [autotag]Eric Nicksick[/autotag] of Xtreme Couture, revealed the UFC brass mentioned the possibility of a showdown with [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) before he was booked against Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6.

“I know they were hoping for maybe Khamzat, but I don’t think Sean can travel to Saudi Arabia or something – I’m not 100 percent sure,” Nicksick said in an interview with Sportskeeda. “But I know Khamzat’s name was possibly kicked around. Khamzat is going to be a big draw in Saudi, and that fight is more about location than it was about the opponent, in my opinion.”

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Strickland was campaigning for a rematch with middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who took his belt by split decision at UFC 297 in January.

Nicksick praised Du Plessis, and said the South African actually reciprocated interest in running it back immediately, but the UFC had other plans.

“I ran into Dricus, man. I talked to Dricus,” Nicksick said. “Dricus is a class act, man. I really enjoy having conversations with him. We talked about the fight, we talked about life, whatever, and they said that they were asking for the rematch for Sean.

“They were trying to get the rematch, and they wanted to go a different direction that’s probably going to be Izzy (Adesanya), which is no problem. I understand what the UFC is trying to do, but we need to focus on Paulo Costa, we need to get that win, and I think it puts us right back into title contention.”

As for the clash with Costa, coach Nicksick predicts a late finish by Strickland in what will be a five-round fight.

“I think Sean can get him out there by Round 4 or Round 5,” Nicksick said.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Dustin Poirier explains how Islam Makhachev ‘more of a threat’ than Khabib Nurmagomedov

Heading into UFC 303, Dustin Poirier sees Islam Makhachev as a more refined version of Khabib Nurmagomedov in certain areas.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] sees UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] as more refined than [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] in certain areas.

Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) challenges Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) for the lightweight title in the UFC 302 headliner June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Poirier fell short in his pursuit of an undisputed belt when he was submitted by Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in September 2019. Now he takes on Nurmagomedov’s protege, Makhachev, whom he thinks is even more dangerous.

“His submission game jiu-jitsu wise is a little bit more versatile than Khabib’s was,” Poirier said on “The MMA Hour.” “Khabib had some chokes that he did really well, but Islam’s put himself in bad positions going for armbars, maybe he loses a position, but he trusts his wrestling to get it back. He’s a little bit more of a threat jiu-jitsu wise in scrambles, and his striking is better than Khabib’s.”

Makhachev said he has the key for an easy fight against Poirier. “The Diamond” thinks Makhachev is undermining him.

“I kind of feel like some of the stuff he says, he might not be (respecting me),” Poirier said. “But I’m going to put my hands on this guy. I’m coming in there to hurt him. This is my last shot – mom’s spaghetti, let’s go. … I haven’t been keeping up a whole lot, but when I was at the gym, Mike Brown told me, ‘Man, I think this guy may be underestimating your jiu-jitsu and underestimating how dangerous you are.’

“I think what he was referring to was an interview of Islam saying, ‘This is an easy fight for me.’ I was tagged in a bunch of stuff on Instagram and Twitter of him saying that. I don’t know, maybe he goes about all fights like that, but I can finish and beat anybody at 155 pounds in the world. I really believe that, and he doesn’t have to believe it. I’m the one who has to believe it, and I’m the one who has to go out there and beat his ass. I can do that.”

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For more on the cards, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Grant Dawson draws rebound inspiration from teammate Dustin Poirier ahead of UFC 302

When it comes to how to bounce back from disappointment, Grant Dawson thinks he’s got a good example around him.

When it comes to inspiration for how to bounce back from disappointment, [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] thinks he’s got a good example around him.

This past October, after more than seven years without a loss, Dawson got his first UFC headlining spot against lightweight Bobby Green. But Green handed Dawson a vicious knockout loss just 33 seconds into their main event in Las Vegas. Dawson was more than a 6-1 favorite in the fight.

Dawson (20-2-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) got sent back to the proverbial drawing board with the setback, but will attempt a rebound in June at UFC 302 in Newark, N.J., against Joe Solecki (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who is looking to bounce back from a knockout loss of his own.

“You win some, you lose some – you move on,” Dawson told MMA Junkie Radio. “Bobby beat me fair and square. I’ve got nothing (I can say). It really wasn’t as big of a detriment as I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to be super depressed. I thought I was going to be ‘This is the end of the world for me.’ But it really wasn’t.”

Dawson said American Top Team stablemate Dustin Poirier helped give him some inspiration and motivation in the days after his loss to Green. Rather than presuming he was back to Square One, he said Poirier’s trajectory after a knockout loss to Justin Gaethje proves the MMA game can be unpredictable.

He also called attention to divisional champion Islam Makhachev’s 2015 knockout loss to Adriano Martins, who lost five straight after he beat him.

“Plenty of people have lost to guys that, on paper, they should have beat. (Lightweight champion) Islam Makhachev, who everybody believes is the second coming of MMA Jesus Christ, he got knocked out by a guy that went on a seven-fight losing streak after knocking him out. So look what he can do.

“My teammate Dustin Poirier got knocked out by Justin Gaethje and now is fighting for the belt after just one win. This sport goes fast and you can’t be sitting and wallowing in self pity.”

After Dawson got into the UFC as a featherweight through the first season of Dana White’s Contender Series, he eventually moved to lightweight. His run up to the loss to Green incluced submissions of Jared Gordon and Mark Madsen and a win over Damir Ismagulov.

The fight with Ismagulov was the first time in the UFC that Dawson was a betting underdog, but he swept the judges’ scorecards and even had a 10-8 round. The Green fight should have been a true coming-out party into the top of the title picture, but Dawson instead was left trying to figure out how to progress.

“I’m taking things away from the fight that I need to get better on,” he said. “I’ve been working on those things in the time off and I’m excited to show how much better I’ve gotten and that I still belong in the top 15.”

And as far as anyone trying to brush off his loss to Green as a fluke, Dawson isn’t buying what they’re selling. Although he said the sheer lack of time he was in the cage against Green makes it counterintuitive to find areas to work on, he and his coaches think they did anyway.

“I don’t believe in luck. I don’t think that luck is a real thing. I don’t think Bobby got lucky,” Dawson said. “He made a read and I made a read. His read was correct. My read was wrong. I don’t know how you would say luck had anything to do with that. That was calculated speed chess, and he was a little bit better that night.

“One of the things that we’ve really been working on is being able to read punches a little bit more, knowing where to put my head to stay safe, keeping a little bit of a higher guard, moving my feet a little bit more, and then being more comfortable in the pocket when I do stay in the pocket. I’m not making an excuse here. It’s really hard to take things away from a 33-second fight, but I think we got what we needed out of the fight, and I think all we can really do is work on what we think we need to work on and see how it goes in the next one.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Video: HyunSung Park out of UFC 302 after accident in gym leads to knee ligament rupture

In an MMA gym, it’s important to know where everyone else around you is – as exemplified by this injury-inducing accident.

Flyweight [autotag]HyunSung Park[/autotag] won’t fight at UFC 302 after he suffered an injury during a recent training session.

Tuesday, Park (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) announced his withdrawal from the June 1 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. and shared a video of how he sustained the injury in the gym. Park revealed he suffered a torn knee ligament as a result of the accident.

“During the sparring preparation for this UFC 302, I collided with a colleague I trained with from an invisible angle because of the wind,” Park wrote on Instagram. “My knee was pushed too much inward and the internal ligament of my right knee ruptured, so I was unable to get out for this ufc 302. Sorry to everyone who helped this match.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6Z-V17vMOo/?img_index=1

Park was scheduled to fight [autotag]Andre Lima[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the prelims. Promotional newcomer [autotag]Nyamjargal Tumendemberel[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), nicknamed “Art of Knockout, replaces Park, a person with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie on Tuesday after an initial report by Eurosport NL.

The latest UFC 302 lineup now includes:

  • Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
  • Paulo Costa vs. Sean Strickland
  • Roman Dolidze vs. opponent TBA
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Bassil Hafez vs. Mickey Gall
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
  • Andre Lima vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
  • Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
  • Alex Morono vs. Niko Price
  • Tatsuro Taira vs. Joshua Van

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Anthony Hernandez withdraws from UFC 302 due to hand injury

Anthony Hernandez has been forced to pull out of UFC 302.

[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] has been forced to pull out of UFC 302.

Hernandez (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was scheduled to face [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in a middleweight bout June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., but he withdrew due to a hand injury.

“Fluffy” took to Instagram Monday night to explain what happened.

“On Friday while training I sustained an injury, I got my MRI results back this morning and unfortunately due to a torn ligament in my hand, I will no longer be able to fight on June 1. I want to apologize to the @ufc , my opponent, & the best matchmaker @mickmaynard2 but this was not an injury I could push through. I hope for a quick return and be back in the cage before summer ends. Thank you to all my fans, friends & family for the continued support 🫶🏽 … the journey continues 🧘🏻‍♂️👹🙏🏽.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6XFZ0vyE4J/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Hernandez was looking to build on his five-fight winning streak. He is coming off back-to-back finishes of Edmen Shahbazyan and most recently a Performance of the Night submission over Roman Kopylov at UFC 298.

After amassing a four-fight winning streak, including a TKO finish of Jack Hermansson, Georgia’s Dolidze dropped two straight to Marvin Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov.

With the change, the current UFC 302 lineup includes:

  • Champion Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
  • Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa – five-round co-main event
  • Roman Dolidze vs. opponent TBA
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
  • Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
  • Niko Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Islam Makhachev says he has the key for an ‘easy fight’ vs. Dustin Poirier: ‘It’s worst style for this guy’

If things go according to plan, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev expects to have his way vs. Dustin Poirier.

If things go according to plan, UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] expects to have his way vs. [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag].

Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) defends his title against Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in the UFC 302 main event June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Makhachev’s mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov outgrappled Poirier en route to a third round submission at UFC 242, and Makhachev sees a simple blueprint to follow.

“Dustin, he is a warrior, legend – he has more than everybody experience in this sport,” Makhachev told TMZ. “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.”

Poirier wasn’t in Makhachev’s original plans. But after Gaethje was knocked out by Max Holloway at UFC 300, and Arman Tsarukyan turned down a short-notice opportunity after beating Charles Oliveira, Poirier was the only logical option.

“Dustin is a good opponent because Oliveira, Arman, I beat these guys already,” Makhachev said. “My dream fight for this division is Gaethje, but he lose already. Right now in our weight, we just have Dustin because Arman said no, Oliveira lose, Gaethje lose. We don’t have someone.”

Poirier knocked out Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 to position himself into title contention. He attempted multiple guillotine chokes when Saint Denis wrestled, but wasn’t able to submit him. Poirier has a tendency to jump the guillotine – a submission he almost caught Nurmagomedov with. He joked that he would try against Makhachev, too.

Makhachev played along with the humor.

“Dustin, be ready and wrestle a lot,” Makhachev said. “I defend my neck, I’m ready for your guillotine. It’s not happening in our fight, but I will be ready.”

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For more on the cards, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Michael Bisping warns Islam Makhachev of ‘sniper’ Leon Edwards: ‘Be careful what you wish for’

Michael Bisping advises UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev to focus on his division.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] advises UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] to focus on his division.

Makhachev expressed his desire to move up to welterweight to challenge [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] on multiple occasions, and almost got the opportunity when he was one of three names offered to Edwards at UFC 300.

Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) declined because he didn’t want to train while observing Ramadan, but still has his sights set on Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC).

“He wants a shot to become the two-weight division champion just like he offered Volkanovski,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “But be careful what you wish for because Leon Edwards, right – Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards is an absolute sniper in there. And look at what he just did to Colby Covington.

“Now apparently Colby Covington says that he broke his foot in the first round. And he also said that the judges, well, they were Democrats, and because of his love for Donald Trump, that’s why they didn’t give him the decision. The reality was it wasn’t a close fight.”

Makhachev defends his title against Dustin Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in the UFC 302 main event June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Bisping thinks if Makhachev gets past Poirier, he has multiple challengers awaiting him at 155 pounds.

“Leon Edwards is not a wrestler, but he’s a black belt in defending takedowns and stopping takedowns against the fence,” Bisping said. “That first round against Kamaru Usman, in that second one when he knocked him out: ‘Head shot, dead.’

“Remember: nice little foot trip, got the mount, took the back, got the body triangle, was looking for the rear-naked choke. … (Makhachev) wants a chance to be great, OK? And Islam, he’s probably just getting headlines because he knows damn well there’s a lot of opposition out there.”

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