UFC 302 live results: Updates, highlights, odds, analysis as Islam Makhachev faces Dustin Poirier
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Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier is headlining UFC 302. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, the promotion’s consensus top pound-for-pound fighter, is defending his belt at UFC 302 against fan favorite Dustin Poirier.
Poirier will be hoping third time’s the charm. He has previously fought for the belt twice, losing by submission on rear-naked chokes against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019 and Charles Oliveira in 2021. Since his most recent title shot, he’s defeated Michael Chandler, lost to Justin Gaethje in a “BMF” fight and upset rising star Benoît Saint Denis to remain in the division’s elite ranks.
Makhachev has so far shown himself to be on another level, though his only two title defenses have come against Alexander Volkanovski. The Russian won the vacant title against Oliveira, then the de facto champion, at UFC 280 and was supposed to face him again at UFC 294, but the Brazilian withdrew due to injury, leaving Volkanovski to step up on short notice and pay the price.
Makhachev is the strong favorite to retain the belt and will also have his mentor Nurmagomedov in his corner at the Prudential Center in Newark. Poirier’s been an underdog before, though, and you never know what will happen in a title fight.
Follow all of the action right here on Yahoo Sports with our live blog below where we’ll be sharing all of the latest results and highlights throughout the entire card.
Live83 updates
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:37 PM EDT
‘I can’t believe you stopped that! I’m fine!’
Okay start this lawnmower using that arm. Not so indignant now are you.
Kevin Holland: “I’m just the best gatekeeper you guys have ever seen.”
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:30 PM EDT
Oleksiejczuk was pounding Holland on the ground but left his right arm down for too long. Holland grabbed it and there was nothing Oleksiejczuk could do.
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:29 PM EDT
This would not be the first time a fighter has been mad at referee Herb Dean for stopping a fight after seeing his arm break.
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:29 PM EDT
WOW, Oleksiejczuk drops Holland, but then gets trapped with an armbar. Commentators think his arm broke before he tapped out. Oleksiejczuk protesting the stoppage.
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:19 PM EDT
Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Who they are: Holland is one of those MMA weirdsmobiles who always brings a certain kind of fun, even when it doesn’t necessarily benefit him. Oleksiejczuk is a former light heavyweight with finishing power but not a ton of consistency.
Why it matters: Holland is clinging to the edge of the middleweight rankings after two straight losses, including losing the battle of the lanky, unconventional strikers in a one-sided match against Michael “Venom” Page in March. Oleksiejczuk is also coming off a loss in March and has yet to string together more than two wins in a row since joining the UFC. Normally, this is the kind of fight that Holland wins and Oleksiejczuk loses. But are these normal times?
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:12 PM EDT
RESULT: Niko Price def. Alex Morono by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:12 PM EDT
Niko Price definitely winning this according to Stockton Rules.
All of the energy from the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark has been sucked out of the arena with this fight. Morono survives till the final bell. Price took the last two rounds and should win on the cards despite not landing anything of major significance.
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:09 PM EDT
A Facebook prelim just broke out on a UFC PPV card.
Price easily takes Morono down. Morono has nothing left to give, yet he somehow gets Price off of him to stand back up.
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:07 PM EDT
After Price turned things around in the second, Morono in the third “looks like he’s walking in mud” according to Rogan. Fight has slowed down.
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 11:04 PM EDT
One thing I love about Niko Price is that he fights like he knows his opponents are probably better at this than he is but he has simply decided that he doesn’t care.