UFC® RETURNS TO PRUDENTIAL CENTER WITH
LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT BETWEEN
(C) ISLAM MAKHACHEV AND (#4) DUSTIN POIRIER
CO-MAIN EVENT BOUT:
(#1) SEAN STRICKLAND vs. (#7) PAULO COSTA
UFC® 302: MAKHACHEV vs. POIRIER
TICKETS GO ON SALE THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 19
UFC® returns to Newark, N.J. with another stellar card, headlined by UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and No. 4 ranked contender Dustin Poirier. Also, an action packed five-round co-main event sees No. 1 middleweight contender Sean Strickland square off with No. 7 ranked Paulo Costa.
UFC® 302: MAKHACHEV vs. POIRIER takes place Saturday, June 1 at Prudential Center, with the main card available on ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The prelims will be airing on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. The early prelims will be available for viewing exclusively on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
UFC® returns to Prudential Center after setting the venue’s live sporting event gate record in 2023 with UFC® 288 headlined by Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo. UFC® 302: MAKHACHEV vs. POIRIER will mark the tenth UFC event at the famed arena dating back to 2007.
UFC® 302: MAKHACHEV vs. POIRIER tickets will go on sale this Friday, April 19 at 10 a.m. ET and are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, April 18 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com/newark.
Makhachev (25-1, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia) looks to defend his UFC lightweight championship after his commanding knockout victory over former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. The No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world seeks his fourteenth straight victory and a win over another future hall of famer. The world class grappler also holds wins against Charles Oliveira, Bobby Green and Dan Hooker.
Poirier (30-8 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Lafayette, La.) returns to action seeking championship gold after a thrilling knockout victory against rising contender Benoit Saint Denis. An Octagon veteran, the former Interim UFC lightweight champion holds wins over elite competition such as Conor McGregor (twice), Michael Chandler, and Dan Hooker. Poirier looks to cement his legacy by claiming the undisputed UFC lightweight championship.
Former UFC middleweight champion Strickland (28-6, fighting out of Corona, Calif.) looks to position himself for another title shot with a win in New Jersey. The relentless striker holds victories over Israel Adesanya, Jack Hermansson, Uriah Hall and Brendan Allen. Strickland now intends to get back in the win column with a victory over fan favorite Paulo Costa.
Costa (14-3, fighting out of Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil) returns to action seeking a statement performance. The explosive Brazilian fighter looks to ascend back up the middleweight rankings with a win over the former champion. “The Eraser” has notable wins over Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero and Uriah Hall.
Current bouts also on the card include:
- No. 7 ranked heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida (20-3, fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) squares off against Alexander Romanov (17-2, fighting out of Comrat, Moldova) scheduled for three five minute rounds
- Octagon veteran Randy Brown (18-5, fighting out of Queens, N.Y.) clashes with Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (24-7, fighting out of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil) in a welterweight bout
- HyunSung Park (9-0, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand) and Dana White’s Contender Series alum Andre Lima (8-0, fighting out of Guarulhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil) square off in a battle between undefeated flyweights.
- Niko Price (15-7, fighting out of Cape Coral, Fla.) battles Alex Morono (24-9, fighting out of Houston, Texas) in a welterweight tilt
- Pivotal matchup scheduled for the middleweight division as No. 9 ranked contender Roman Dolidze (12-3, fighting out of Batumi, Georgia) and No. 12 Anthony Hernandez (12-2 1NC, fighting out of Dunnigan, Calif.) go to battle
- Dana White’s Contender Series alum Cesar Almeida (5-0, fighting out of São Paulo, Brazil) collides with Roman Kopylov (12-3, fighting out of Novosibirsk, Russia) in a middleweight bout
- Looking to put to their rivalry to rest, bantamweights Ailin Perez (9-2, fighting out of Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Joselyne Edwards (13-5, fighting out of Panama City, Panama) square off
- Sumudaerji (16-6, fighting out of Aba, Sichuan, China) looks to stop “The Fearless” Joshua Van (10-1, fighting out of Houston, Texas) in a flyweight bout
- An action packed bout is set for the 155-pound division as Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner Grant Dawson (20-2-1, fighting out of Coconut, Creek, Fla.) locks horns with Joe Solecki (13-4, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.)
- Well-rounded welterweights Phil Rowe (10-4, fighting out of Orlando, Fla.) and Jake Matthews (19-7, fighting out of Epping Victoria, Australia) slated for three five minute rounds
- New Jersey’s own Mickey Gall (7-5, fighting out of Green Brook, N.J.) makes his return to the Octagon to take on Bassil Hafez (8-4-1, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) at welterweight
For the latest information on bout announcements and additional information for this event, please visit UFC.com/newark. All bouts are subject to change. Please click here to apply for the event.
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About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 259 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 975 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.
About Prudential Center
Prudential Center is the world-class sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Opened in October 2007, the state-of-the-art arena is the home of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) three-time Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall University’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball program, and more than 210 concerts, family shows and special events each year. Ranked in the Top 5 worldwide by Pollstar, Billboard and Venues Today, Prudential Center is recognized as one of the premier venues in the United States, and hosts over 2 million guests annually. For more information about Prudential Center, visit https://www.prucenter.com/ and follow the arena on Facebook, X and Instagram @PruCenter. Prudential Center is a HBSE property.
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About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
