It was fight night in New Jersey.
UFC brought its latest pay-per-view to the Prudential Center with UFC 302, with 12 bouts taking place Saturday night. The main event was the UFC lightweight championship contest between champion Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier. It did not disappoint.
The co-main event was a middleweight bout between the controversial Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa.
UFC 302 started what is expected to be a thrilling month for the promotion, which includes the return of Conor McGregor June 29 vs. Michael Chandler.
Here's everything that went down at UFC 302:
Islam Makhachev was far from the most popular fighter to enter the ring Saturday night, but he proved he’s still the best. The UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighter retained his lightweight title with a submission victory against Dustin Poirier.
It was hardly easy. It took five rounds, but Makhachev finally was able to lock Poirier into a D'Arce choke and got "The Diamond" to tap.
Makhachev secured a takedown in the first minute of the fight and there things stayed for the remainder of the first round. The fans in New Jersey, who chanted “USA” multiple times during the match in support of the American Poirier against his Russian foe, grew restless but Makhachev was undeterred – he spent the rest of the round either on top or underneath Poirier attempting to lock in different chokes and holds.
Round two nearly went to the ground in the first 15 seconds but Poirier was able to escape and thwarted a second takedown attempt. The fight stayed on the feet until the closing seconds, when Makhachev finally got Poirier on the ground.
Makhachev landed multiple early knees in the third round – which may have done some damage to Poirier’s nose – before forcing a takedown. But Poirier managed to get back up with a little more than two minutes to go.
By the fourth round Poirier’s nose was leaking pretty consistently but a huge cut was opened up on Makhachev’s face, too, turning the affair into a bloody mess.
It seemed like it might be anyone's fight in the fifth before Makhachev made his winning moves to earn the stoppage at 2:42 of the fifth and final round.
Makhachev expressed his desire to fight for a second belt, moving up to welterweight, during his in-ring interview.
Poirier told the crowd he was uncertain about his future but said this very well could have been his final fight.
A relentless Sean Strickland defeated Paulo Costa by split decision in the co-main event of UFC 302.
Strickland, back in action for the first time since he lost the middleweight championship to Dricus Du Plessis in January, spent the early rounds of the fight in an inexorable march forward. Costa, constantly in retreat, hit the canvas briefly a few times but otherwise the fighters remained on their feet.
That remained (pretty much) true throughout, but Costa finally started to hold his ground in the fourth. But by then it was probably too late – and Strickland finished the fifth and final round with a flourish that briefly landed Costa on the canvas again.
After the scorecards were read – 49-46 Costa, 50-45 Strickland, 49-46 Strickland – Strickland exited the cage to greet and take a photo with former President Donald Trump, who was sitting cageside.
Strickland said it was a “boring fight” and he apologized to the crowd in his in-ring interview. He also gave a shoutout to Trump and said it’s a "travesty what they’re doing to you.” (Trump was convicted this week on 34 counts of falsifying business records.)
The bout between Kevin Holland and Michal Oleksiejczuk was a short one, but eventful.
Oleksiejczuk rocked Holland, sending him to the mat. But Holland expertly maneuvered out of danger and got Oleksiejczuk into a nasty armbar. It looked painful — frankly, it was gross. Analysts Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier were adamant that Oleksiejczuk's arm either broke or he dislocated something; referee Herb Dean called the fight shortly after. Oleksiejczuk immediately protested the decision while Holland ran out of the cage to greet former President Donald Trump, who was sitting cageside.
Niko Price has won another fight against Alex Morono. But unlike Price’s first win at UFC Fight Night 104 in 2017, where Price knocked out Morono (in what was later ruled a no contest due to Price's positive marijuana test), Saturday’s fight between the two went the distance.
Morono came out strong and landed several punches, but Morono appeared to be completely gassed, allowing Price to take control for an unanimous win (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
We have a situation on our hands. An event in New Jersey wouldn’t be complete without members from MTV’s “Jersey Shore” on hand. Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Vinny Guadagnino are in the building for UFC 302 and earned a loud applause from the crowd.
Randy Brown appeared seconds away from submitting, but he pulled off a stunning turnaround to defeat Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in their welterweight bout.
Dos Santos appeared to be poked in the eye, but the referee didn’t stop the match for dos Santos to recover. Brown caught dos Santos in the head with a knee to end the first round. Dos Santos came out swinging in the second round and took down Brown. Dos Santos ended up on Brown’s back and nearly secured a submission but Brown escaped, completed a stunning reverse and nearly submitted dos Santos himself.
Both came out swinging in the third round, but Brown was called for another poke. Brown caught dos Santos with a knee again, followed up by a couple of landed jabs to secure his win.
Former President Donald Trump is indeed in the building for UFC 302. Trump, who was convicted this week on 34 counts of falsifying business records, received quite an ovation from the crowd at New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
Trump walked out with UFC President Dana White and was shown on the broadcast shaking hands with comedian Theo Von and greeting broadcasters Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier before making his way to his seat.
One person the former president didn't appear to greet? Aaron Rodgers.
The broadcast showed the four-time NFL MVP — who for a time anyway appeared like a potential Trump political rival — remained seated as Trump walked past.
Trump has attended a number of UFC events over the years.
Roman Kopylov outlasted Cesar Almeida for a split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) in their middleweight bout.
Kopylov caught Almeida with a massive left hook early in the first round and knocked Almeida down with another left. Kopylov appeared to take down Almeida at will. Almeida landed some punches in the second round, but Kopylov controlled much of the third on the ground. At one point, the crowd started chanted “Stand Them Up” and referee Herb Dean eventually complied. Kopylov instantly went for another takedown and succeeded, despite the crowd’s boos.
We have the first submission of the night! Jailton Almeida ended his fight with Alexander Romanov early in the first round with a rear-naked choke for a first-round submission.
Almeida had no problem taking down Romanov early in the first round, despite their difference in weight. Almeida worked his way onto Romanov’s back and easily submitted him.
“I said I’m going to finish the fight. I knew I got knocked out the last fight, but I came here to finish the fight,” Almeida said via translator.
Almeida celebrated by busting a dance move in the center of the ring.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in the house for UFC 302, which is being staged not too far from the team’s New Jersey facility.
But the four-time MVP – whose Jets tenure so far has amounted to four plays but lots of headlines – is not expected to be the most famous person in the building.
Former President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social account that he’d be in attendance at the Prudential Center Saturday night, capping what has been an, uh, eventful week for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Grant Dawson defeated Joe Solecki via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) in their lightweight bout.
Dawson came out of the gate quickly and instantly went for a flying knee, but Solecki caught Dawson’s leg, gradually took him down and nearly corralled him into a guillotine. Dawson was able to escape and gain control on the ground, which he maintained throughout the match. Solecki caught Dawson with an elbow that created a gash above Dawson's right eye, but wasn’t able to threaten Dawson much otherwise.
Matthews earned his 13th UFC win with a unanimous decision over Philip Rowe (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) in their welterweight bout.
Rowe has an 80.5-inch reach, the second-longest reach among active UFC welterweights, and he used his 7.5-inch wingspan advantage to his favor. Rowe landed a right hand to Matthews' face and busted his nose open midway through the first round. Despite bleeding profusely, Matthews stunned Rowe with a couple shots in the second round and controlled Rowe on the ground to pick up the win.
Bassil Hafez defeated Mickey Gall via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a hard-hitting contest. Both Hafez and Gall traded blows throughout the entire fight, but Hafez had the upper hand.
After his victory, Hafez delivered a message.
"There's something I want to say, it's been heavy on my heart for a long time: I don't support genocide," Hafez told the crowd. "I don't support innocent women and children being killed for war, or for money and power. We are all God's children, and we all deserve a fair chance in life. Free Palestine."
Ailin Perez defeated Joselyne Edwards by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in their women's bantamweight fight. Perez celebrated with her "signature twerk."
An official timeout was called in the second round after Edwards was called for a headbutt, although she did not get a point penalty. Perez responded with a spinning fist after the restart that hit Edwards in the face and knocked her down. Perez controlled the fight and had several takedowns of Edwards.
There’s no love lost between Perez and Edwards. A war of words came to blows when they got into a fight ahead of UFC Fight Night 232 in Las Vegas in November, where Perez was scheduled to fight Lucie Pudilova days later. The UFC didn’t discipline Perez and Edwards for the fight outside the ring and instead set up Saturday's match.
At the start of the fight, Perez reached out her hand to tap gloves with Edwards, who did not return the gesture. But the two hugged it out afterwards, appearing to quash their beef.
Andre Lima will remain undefeated.
Lima came out of the gate strong and delivered power kick after power kick to Raposo’s body. Lima landed 23 leg kicks and 13 significant head strikes on Raposo across three rounds. Raposo, on the other hand, had 30 significant head strikes on Lima, but it was not enough to win the flyweight bout. Lima was deemed the winner by split decision, which came as a surprise to broadcasters Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan, who all felt Lima should have swept the cards handily.
UFC 302 is Saturday, June 1. Here are the times the early prelims, prelims and main card are expected to start:
The early prelims, prelims and main card will all be streamed on different platforms, with the main card being a pay-per-view event. Here's where to watch all the action and how much it costs:
Main card
Prelims
Early Prelims
UFC 302 is taking place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
| Islam Makhachev | Dustin Poirier | |
| 25-1-0 | Record | 30-8-0 |
| Russia | Country | United States |
| 5-foot-10-inches | Height | 5-foot-9-inches |
| 155 pounds | Weight | 156 pounds |
| 70.5 in. | Reach | 72 in. |
| 40.5 in. | Leg reach | 40.5 in. |
| Sean Strickland | Paulo Costa | |
| 28-6-0 | Record | 14-3-0 |
| United States | Country | Brazil |
| 6-foot-1-inch | Height | 6-foot-1-inch |
| 184 pounds | Weight | 185 pounds |
| 76 in. | Reach | 72 in. |
| 41.5 in. | Leg reach | 39.5 in. |
2024-12-24 08:001790 view
2024-12-24 07:21252 view
2024-12-24 07:211505 view
2024-12-24 07:171812 view
2024-12-24 06:512586 view
2024-12-24 05:501145 view
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a court Wednesday to pause prosecutors’ appeal se
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin archaeologists are crediting a man and daughter with discovering th
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The son of the president of Somalia will return to Turkey in the coming days t
