UFC 302: How to watch Makhachev vs. Poirier title fight, start time, Newark fight card, odds, more (2024)

UFC 302 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (via ESPN+). The four-fight prelim card airs on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET, and three early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. ET.

Stay tuned to MMA Junkie for more broadcast details later this week.

Record: 25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC
Opponent: Dustin Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Key wins: Alexander Volkanovski (twice), Charles Oliveira, Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Arman Tsarukyan
Misc.: The 32-year-old Makhachev grew up with Khabib Nurmagomedov and has trained with him every step of the way. This will be his third attempted title defense after back-to-back wins over Volkanovski.

Record: 30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC
Opponent: Islam Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Key wins: Benoit Saint Denis, Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Max Holloway (twice), Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis
Misc.: Poirier has his third crack at an undisputed UFC title. He beat Holloway to win an interim belt in 2019, but lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his first true title shot. After his win over Hooker and two finishes of McGregor, he was submitted by Charles Oliveira in his second crack at the belt.

Record: 14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC
Opponent: Sean Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Key wins: Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, Uriah Hall, Johny Hendricks
Misc.: After a 13-0 start to his career, Costa got a title shot in 2020, but was knocked out by Israel Adesanya. Since then, he’s dropped fights to former champion Robert Whittaker and former title challenger Marvin Vettori. A Fight of the Night war with ex-champ Rockhold is the one bright spot the past four years, so a win over an ex-champ like Strickland could be of paramount importance.

Record: 28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC
Opponent: Paulo Costa (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Key wins: Israel Adesanya, Jack Hermansson, Uriah Hall, Brendan Allen
Misc.: Strickland cashed in on a bit of a surprise title shot that came on the heels of wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Abusupiyan Magomedov and largely dominated Adesanya to win the title this past September. His reign lasted just four months; he lost the belt to Dricus du Plessis in January.

Record: 9-1
Opponent: Andre Lima (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Division: Flyweight
Key wins: Justin Valentin (for Cage Titans flyweight title)
Misc.: The 25-year-old Raposo is just three years removed from Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” After that season, he lost to current UFC fighter Jake Hadley on Dana White’s Contender Series. But since then, he has four straight stoppages, a Cage Titans title, and now a short-notice second chance with the UFC.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Islam Makhachev (-600) vs. Dustin Poirier (+400) –for lightweight title
• Paulo Costa (+185) vs. Sean Strickland (-225)
• Kevin Holland (-250) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (+205)
• Jailton Almeida (-280) vs. Alexandr Romanov (+230)
• Randy Brown (-170) vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (+140)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET)

• Cesar Almeida (+105) vs. Roman Kopylov (-125)
• Grant Dawson (-380) vs. Joe Solecki (+280)
• Jake Matthews (-160) vs. Phil Rowe (+135)
• Alex Morono (-245) vs. Niko Price (+200)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

• Bassil Hafez (-310) vs. Mickey Gall (+245)
• Joselyne Edwards (+175) vs. Ailin Perez (-210)
• Andre Lima (-205) vs. Mitch Raposo (+170)