Could a living legend fufill his dream or will a reigning king stay on his throne?

UFC 302 takes place in Newark, New Jersey with the featured bout being between P4P king and UFC Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and 4th ranked lightweight contender Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier with the Co-main event being a middleweight clash between former champion Sean Strickland going up against Paulo “The Eraser” Costa. This contest will be 5 rounds with a potential title fight looming for the victor. Also, on this card, Jailton Almedia faces off against Alexander Romanov.

Jailton Almedia vs Alexander Romanov

Number 7 ranked Jailton Almedia will seek to get back into the win collumn after a surprising loss for many against Curtis Blaydes and he is taking on number 13 ranked Alexander Romanov. Romanov is off a victory against Blagoy Ivanov in the summer of 2023 and had looked impressive during the early portions of his UFC tenure until the loss to Marcin Tybura and Alexander Volkov specifically. Almedia after coming off a dominating yet lackluster victory over Derrick Lewis still was seen as the slight favorite against now challenger for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship in Manchester at UFC 303, Curtis Blaydes. However, Almedia was caught by strikes by Blaydes while Almedia shot for a takedown which resulted in the TKO victory for Blaydes.

Regarding this contest, Almedia has the strong wrestling advantage while Romanov has a slight striking advantage however, we have seen in recent years that Alexander Romanov has not entered the octagon in the best shape possible which could hinder his endurance against Almedia who we know can wrestle forever.

Prediction – Jailton Almedia via Submission in the 2nd Round

I believe that Almedia will make Romanov become exhausted due to the constant wrestling and Romanov will give his back helping Almedia get the rear naked choke in the second round.

Sean Strickland vs Paulo Costa

Number 1 ranked Sean Strickland takes on number 7th ranked Paulo Costa in a 5 round co-main event bout which could steal the show. Sean Strickland is coming off the very controversial decision loss against now champion Dricus Du Plessis meanwhile Paulo Costa is coming off a loss against Robert Whittaker in a very competitve bout. We all know what characters both Strickland and Costa are however that should not stray our judgement at how great these two men are at fighting. Costa has had a few years with trouble of having activity within the octagon however has had great fights when he has fought including the barn burner against Luke Rockhold at UFC 278. Meanwhile Strickland is the opposite, he has fought 5 times since Costa vs Rockhold and Costa has had one. Of course, the most impressive fight he had was his victory against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 where he shocked the world and became the UFC Middleweight Champion

Regarding this contest, Costa has more of an advantage if the fight goes to the ground as he has a black belt in BJJ however he never shows it in his fight. The stand up department could be dangerous for both as Strickland has great boxing with that Philly shell stance and that long jab which could cause Costa problems. However, Costa has serious power which could put anyone’s lights out which is why this contest is brilliant matchmaking from the UFC.

Prediction– Paulo Costa via TKO in the 2nd Round

I believe that Paulo Costa will show off his improvements he has made since the Whittaker fight and will finish Sean Strickland who does keep his chin in the air. I believe Costa will hurt Strickland and finish this fight in devastating fashion.

The Main Event- Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier

The UFC Lightweight and P4P king Islam Makhachev returns to defend his belt against a future UFC hall of famer in Dustin Poirier. This fight is billed by Poirier as potentially his last contest ever within the octagon and would like nothing more than to ride off into the sunset as undisputed champion which is the one prize that we have not seen achieve. However, standing in his way is Islam Makhachev who is arguably the most well rounded fighter the UFC has who is coming off a great knockout victory against Alexander Volkanovski. Previously, we have seen Poirier lose to Khabib Nurmagomedov who is the lifelong training partner, friend and now coach of Islam Makhachev via submission for the UFC lightweight championship. This fight could not have a better story written for Dustin as he would come back and beat the guy who is trained by the man he lost to but we shall wait and see on Saturday night.

Regarding this fight, Islam Makhachev has to follow “father’s plan” as his team likes to refer to it as which is bringing the fight to the ground and making Poirier tired. However, we have seen Islam become in love with his striking as he has had great success with it as did Kamaru Usman previously but this is dangerous especially as he is standing in front of arguably a top 3 boxer in the UFC at the moment with. Dustin Poirier. Poirier has to keep this on the feet and in fact I believe Poirier has to finish this fight within the first 2 rounds for him to have a chance. He needs to catch Islam with his striking and limit the takedowns and use the experience he has had against Khabib to his advantage.

Prediction – Islam Makhachev via Submission in the 3rd Round

I believe this fight is going to be a carbon copy of the Khabib and Poirier contest as Islam Makhachev will make Poirier tired and wear him down. However, just like the Khabib fight, I think Poirier will have Islam in trouble with a guillotine which has been joked around via many on social media but I don’t think it will be enough. Islam will take his back and win via rear naked choke therefore ending the fairytale dream of “El Diamantè”

Let us know what you think of my preview and my predictions on social media and in the comments and also share your predictions on who is going to win this weekend.