UFC 302 RECAP – Islam Makhachev wins by submission over Dustin Poirier: relive all the action from New Jersey as Donald Trump watches Nurmagomedov’s protege win

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: That’s all from the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Have a great night!

To be a fly on the wall…

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: The 35-year-old Poirier wouldn’t confirm his retirement just yet, but he certainly suggested he may be done fighting.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Makhachev got Poirier in a d’arce choke and the American was forced to submit in front of a friendly crowd.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: A back and forth fight ended with Islam Makhachev submitting Dustin Poirier in the fifth and final round.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Poirier continues to land effectively on his feet despite being controlled on multiple occasions. The Diamond’s striking has left Makhachev with a cut heading into the final round. The crowd is on its feet.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: The challenger survived yet another ground onslaught from the champion in the third before kicking off the cage and rolling out of Makhachev’s grip. The two got into several exchanges on their feet, both finding success, and went forehead-to-forehead on their way to their corners. Championship rounds underway.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: The second round remained standing for the most part. Poirier’s takedown defense was on display as he evaded Makhachev’s first three attempts at his legs. The Dagestani was content to stand and trade with the renowned knockout artist until he successfully got him down in the last seconds

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Islam Makhachev was quick to shoot for Dustin Poirier’s legs in the opening round of the UFC 302 main event. The lightweight champion easily took the first by staying on Poirier’s back despite failing all submission attempts.

Poirier heads towards the ring!

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: The crowd at Prudential Center sang along to Willie Spence’s rendition of ‘Diamonds’ by Rihanna as Dustin Poirier made what could be his last walk to the Octagon. Poirier, who hinted at retirement is facing Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in the UFC 302 main event. The Diamond is making his third attempt to earn undisputed gold after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira in previews attempts.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: The last few seconds of the co-main event saw Sean Strickland throwing wild shots at Paulo Costa. However, the rest of the fight went more like a calculated chess match. Strickland’s unorthodox striking and constant forward pressure, while not the most entertaining, proved effective once again. Strickland ran to Donald Trump to shake his hand and posed for a picture after the split decision win.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: What was advertised as a slugfest in the middleweight division is off to a slow start to the crowd’s expense.

Two rounds into the co-main event, Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa are comfortable feeling each other out, throwing little to no significant strikes. However, the Newark crowd is not too pleased and is making it known.

Strickland continues to push to pace and march forward as Costa answers most of his combinations with shots of his own

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Former middleweight champion Sean Strickland’s walkout was accompanied by loud cheers as the crowd in Newark erupted for the American.

Strickland faces Paulo Costa in the co-headliner in his first showing since losing the title to Dricus Du Plessis.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Kevin Holland made quick work of Michael Oleksiejczuk in their middleweight meeting.

After locking in a tight arm bar in the first round, referee Herb Dean had to save the Polish fighter from a broken arm as he refused to submit.

Holland quickly jumped out of the cage, shook Donald Trump’s hand and shared a few words with the former president after the victory. While Trump kept his cool, Holland was over the moon as UFC chief Dana White smiled in the background.

LEO CALLAO: Crowd favorite Kevin Holland controlled the audience during his walkout at Prudential Center as he danced his way to the Octagon.

The No 15 ranked middleweight looks to turn around from his UFC 299 loss to Michael Venom Page with a win over Michael Oleksiejczuk in Newark.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Nico Price’s takedowns proved sufficient to earn him 29-28s across the board against Alex Morono.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Welterweights Niko Price and Alex Morono’s fight appears to be a coin toss after two decent rounds of puzzling grappling exchanges.

Both have found success on their feet, both also had their moments on the ground, which were initiated by Price’s takedowns.

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is back on Islam Makhachev’s corner as he defends the title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.

After missing his teammate and successor’s fight against Alexander Volkanovski in 2023, The Eagle explained that he completely stepped away from MMA, including cornering duties for Makhachev.

Nurmagomedov submitted Poirier in 2019 and fought Justin Gaethje before retiring at 29-0.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: After surviving multiple submission attempts, Randy ‘Rude Boy’ Brown earned a 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards to get a unanimous decision.

The New Jersey crowd cheered on as the main card kicked off with a banger.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: After a competitive first round, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos controlled Randy Brown on the ground for most of the second.

Rude Boy was able to defend his opponents submission attempts and ended the round on top. The bout may very well be 1-1 as the crowd is pleased with the fighters.

LEO CALLAO: After former US President Donald Trump’s walkout capped off the prelims, the UFC 302 crowd has been fired up going into the main card.

Chants of ‘U-S-A’ rained down as Trump’s entrance was followed by Sean Strickland’s arrival on the big screen.

Shortly after, Theo Vonn and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers were featured on the screen and also received an ovation.

Chants of ‘we want Trump’ and ‘f**k Joe Biden’ could be heard as the first main card fight between Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos and Randy Brown opened.

Donald Trump is in the building

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: With a combination of effective striking and active ground control, Roman Kopylov earned all but one judgenods against Cesar Almeida. Despite the crowd chanting ‘stand them up’ in the third round, Kopylov stuck with the game get two judges’ nods.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: The crowd erupted as MMA legend Mark Coleman was featured on the big screen.

The UFC Hall of Famer nearly lost his life after saving his parents from a house fire in March. The 59-year-old has since recovered and sat cage side at UFC 300 and 302.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: Jailton Almedia made quick work of Alexandr Romanov in their heavyweight showdown.

After scoring a takedown seconds into the fight, the Brazilian stayed on top and transitioned to his opponent’s back to secure a first round rear naked choke finish.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: After opening the fight with a failed flying-knee attempt, Grant Dawson used his dominant wrestling and stayed on top of Joe Solecki for majority of the contest.

Boos rained down from the crowd as Solecki frustratedly fought on his back for nearly 15 minutes. Nevertheless, Dawson’s game plan earned him a unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27.

LEO CALLAO IN NEW JERSEY: The Prudential Center began filling up during the early prelims, in which hometown hero Mickey Gall put on a show despite losing to Bassil Hafez.

The New Jersey crowd has been actively cheering through the preliminary fights chants for UFC Chief Dana White repeatedly echoing around the arena.

The Jets quarterback has taken his seat in the arena. He’s expected to be joined by former President Donald Trump.

No sign of the Donald yet, though.

In the first prelim bout of the night, Australia’s Jake Matthews kept American Phil Rowe at bay to earn a unanimous decision win.

Matthews controlled the tempo with effective striking for 15 minutes, not allowing Rowe to get his momentum. Rowe landed 36 percent of his strikes to Matthews’ 47 percent. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 in Matthews’ favour.

Thank you for joining us for our coverage of UFC 302 in New Jersey.

We will have all the action live ahead of the main event, when Islam Makhachev takes on Dustin Poirier!