UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, the promotion’s consensus top pound-for-pound fighter, is defending his belt at UFC 302 against fan favorite Dustin Poirier.
Poirier will be hoping third time’s the charm. He has previously fought for the belt twice, losing by submission on rear-naked chokes against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019 and Charles Oliveira in 2021. Since his most recent title shot, he’s defeated Michael Chandler, lost to Justin Gaethje in a “BMF” fight and upset rising star Benoît Saint Denis to remain in the division’s elite ranks.
[Related: How to watch UFC 302]
Makhachev has so far shown himself to be on another level, though his only two title defenses have come against Alexander Volkanovski. The Russian won the vacant title against Oliveira, then the de facto champion, at UFC 280 and was supposed to face him again at UFC 294, but the Brazilian withdrew due to injury, leaving Volkanovski to step up on short notice and pay the price.
Makhachev is the strong favorite to retain the belt and will also have his mentor Nurmagomedov in his corner at the Prudential Center in Newark. Poirier’s been an underdog before, though, and you never know what will happen in a title fight.
Follow all of the action right here on Yahoo Sports with our live blog below where we’ll be sharing all of the latest results and highlights throughout the entire card.
UFC 302 main card (Start time 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV)
All odds via BetMGM.
