Could Islam Makhachev continue his dominant streak? Would Dustin Poirier retire, win or lose, on Saturday night? Might one of Sean Strickland or Paulo Costa secure another shot at middleweight gold? Those were the questions heading into UFC 302 in Newark, NJ this Saturday; on Thursday the promotional push continued with the traditional pre-fight press conference.
Makhachev had long been the heir apparent to teammate and now coach Khabib Nurmagomedov, who as chance would have it was back in the lightweight champion’s corner for the event. In recent years, it has been Makhachev flying the flag for Dagestan, piling up wins over Charles Olivier and Alexander Volkanovski (the latter twice). Facing off against an old foe of Khabib in Dustin Poirier, Makhachev was looking to further cement his own legacy against a figure who had become one of the most popular names in the UFC.
As for Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier, he was on his third shot at undisputed lightweight gold and had freely acknowledged in advance of the bout that the fight would likely be his final chance to ascend to the top of the mountain. A former interim title holder, Poirier had come up short against both Khabib (2019) and Charles Oliveira (2021); at 35, his window in MMA was quickly closing.
Both the main and co-main event players were on hand in Newark for Thursday’s UFC 302 pre-fight press conference; tune in above.
