Islam Makhachev, ESPN's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, puts his UFC lightweight title on the line against a fellow lightweight for the first time when he takes on Dustin Poirier in the main event at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV, with prelims at 8 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN+ and early prelims at 6 p.m. on ESPN+).
Makhachev has defended his title twice already, but both defenses were against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who moved up to challenge for the 155-pound belt. Makhachev beat Volkanovki in both fights by unanimous decision and first-round knockout, respectively. Poirier, a former interim lightweight champion, will make his third attempt at the 155-pound title. In his last fight, he beat Benoît Saint Denis by second-round knockout at UFC 299 to earn this title shot.
In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland looks to get back into the title picture when he faces Paulo Costa. Strickland lost the title via split decision to Dricus Du Plessis in his last fight at UFC 297. Costa enters the fight following a unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 298.
Brett Okamoto spoke to retired UFC welterweight and UFC analyst Alan Jouban to get his perspective on the UFC main event. ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds his insights and analysis on the main event, co-main event and other intriguing bets he likes on the card.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
