Will Dustin Poirier shock Islam with his favorite guillotine choke or will Makhachev solidify himself as one of the greatest lightweights in history? Let's look at this unbelievable card and discuss our early UFC 302 predictions.
UFC 302 Predictions: Best Main Card in a While
Almeida vs Romanov Prediction
Few people expected Almeida to lose to Blaydes in March but it happened. He has to fight for his right to climb higher now but this fight is not exactly the one he wanted. Romanov is ranked 13th, which means that Almeida is at a disadvantage. He will not get a higher rank with this win but losing here guarantees that he will lose positions.
These two heavyweights stand out in the division with their wrestling skills but we also believe that Romanov has already reached his ceiling. He has no success against elite opposition and he already failed to beat Volkov. Bet on Jailton Almeida as he is a more complete fighter and a much better wrestler.
Holland vs Oleksiejczuk Prediction
It might be a good idea for Kevin Holland to take a break or spend more time choosing his opponents because his last few fights didn't go as planned. He always accepts every challenge and this is why he will probably never make it to the top of the division.
Pleksiejczuk looks like a great option to get Holland back on track. The Pole failed to get ranked and lost to guys like Michel Pereira, Caio Borrallo, and Dustin Jacoby. Michal feels great in striking exchanges but has extremely poor wrestling.
We believe that Holland will have a solid game plan and will be able to take control on the ground. We have to pick him for our UFC 302 predictions as losing to Oleksiejczuk would be a disgrace.
Strickland vs Costa Prediction
Sean Strickland is no longer the Middleweight champion and we believe that he feels relief right now. Having sensationally defeated Adesanya, Sean did the almost impossible – he sealed his name in MMA history, without having any real prerequisites for this.
Losing the belt immediately (although we believe he won the fight) lifted this huge burden of responsibility off his shoulders. Paulo Costa was once an elite name in the division – he hits hard and has the endurance of a bull. Yet, he only fought four times in the last four years and lost 3/4.
We expect both fighters to take a huge beating in this fight but we have to side with Strickland for our UFC 302 predictions.
While the MMA community was calling for Makhachev vs Gaethje, Poirier will do for now. Moreover, he has every chance to beat Makhachev. Poirier hits hard, has above-average wrestling, and has more experience than 99% of the fighters in the UFC.
Nevertheless, Poirier is part of a whole generation of incredible fighters who failed to become champions due to the dominance of Khabib and not Islam. Although Makhachev claims that he is inferior to Nurmagomedov, his UFC career is probably already greater now.
This will be Poirier's third attempt to win the belt and if he fails, we expect him to retire. He will go all in and give Makhachev a run for his money. He has the striking advantage and his counter-punching is elite.
There's never a shortage of excitement when @DustinPoirier is in that Octagon 🤩
But it is a fact that Makhachev doesn't need to fight Dustin, he can easily take him down and maintain control or even finish him. Everybody loves Poirier but we have to side with Makhachev for our early UFC 302 predictions.
All in all, matchmakers finally managed to put together a brilliant card. While the last few events were not bad in general, there were few high-profile fights. There is a lot happening this week in combat sports but you shouldn't miss this event.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
