UFC 302 Fight Card: PPV Schedule, Odds and Predictions for Makhachev vs. Poirier

UFC 302 is all set for the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey with Dustin Poirier attempting to take the lightweight championship from Islam Makhachev in the main event.

Poirier has long been a fan favorite and interim champion, but winning undisputed UFC gold is still an achievement that has evaded him. The Diamond will get a third crack at the championship hoping that this time will be a charm.

Three is a significant number for Makhachev too. He's looking to make his third consecutive successful title defense after denying Alexander Volkanovski with a first-round knockout in his last bout.

It's a great clash of styles with the highest of stakes to close out the night.

Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa will throw down in an important middleweight fight that will serve as the co-main event. Here's a look at the entire card and a closer look with predictions for the final two fights.

Tickets: Vivid Seats

Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

•  Islam Makhachev (c) (-600) vs. Dustin Poirier (+440) – for lightweight title
• Paulo Costa (+210) vs. Sean Strickland (-258)
• Kevin Holland (-290) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (+235)
• Alex Morono (-258) vs. Niko Price (+210)
• Randy Brown (-175) vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (+145)

Prelims (ESPN2/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Cesar Almeida (-115) vs. Roman Kopylov (-105)
• Jailton Almeida (=325) vs. Alexandr Romanov (+260)
• Grant Dawson (-535) vs. Joe Solecki (+400)
• Jake Matthews (-166) vs. Phil Rowe (+140)

Early Prelims (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Bassil Hafez (-380) vs. Mickey Gall (+300)
• Joselyne Edwards (+160) vs. Ailin Perez (-192)
• Andre Lima (-298) vs. Mitch Raposo (+240)

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Poirier has gone on multiple runs that have culminated in a title shots. The most fun outcome would be for him to finally get over the hump here. He has nine Fight of the Night awards and a few more performance bonuses on his resume.

Combine that penchant for exciting fights with his public charity work and it's not hard to see why Poirier has a large following.

Poirier pulled an upset just to be in this spot. Benoit Saint Denis was on a five-fight win streak and looked like the next big thing before Poirier knocked him out in the second round of their March meeting.

Unfortunately, Islam Makhachev is a different beast. Volkanovski gave him a surprising amount of trouble in their first meeting, but there haven't been many moments of weakness for the 32-year-old champion.

Makhachev is often compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov who works as his trainer. The comparisons are apt and he's proving it inside the cage as his reign continues.

It's also a reminder that Nurmagomedov was able to score a lopsided win over Poirier. His pressure wrestling negated Poirier's dangerous striking and he finished him off with a submission in the third round.

Poirier is older now and Makhachev might be even more well rounded than Nurmagomedov. This one should go similarly but could be on an accelerated timeline.

Prediction: Makhachev via second-round TKO

There's some validity in this fight as a co-main event. Strickland now has the title of "former champion" that's going to make any of his fights a little easier to sell. However, this one feels like it's being put together to set up bigger things down the road.

That's mostly because Costa has not done much to be co-main eventing pay-per-views these days. The Brazilian is just 1-3 in his last four fights and that one win was a unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold who hasn't won a fight since 2017.

Costa has gotten a lot of mileage out of the 13-0 start to his career and included a win over Yoel Romero. Since then, he's mostly fell short of expectations.

Strickland, meanwhile, has outdone most expectations of him during his slow climb to relevance. He's not the most athletic or explosive fighter in the division but he has produced due to a his high-volume striking that's overwhelming for most in the division.

That will probably carry through on Saturday night with Costa. The Brazilian still has some one-punch power that could catch Strickland early on. But if he doesn't land something significant within the first round things could swing Strickland's way in a hurry.

The former champion took the fight to Israel Adesanya, so he certainly won't be afraid to turn this one into a brawl.

That's a fight that Strickland is equipped to handle while Costa's questionable cardio could come in to play.

Prediction: Strickland via unanimous decision