The octagon returned to the Prudential Center tonight and some of the best fighters in the world put on a show, including the reigning lightweight champion. And while there were some great fights and big results in the earlier fights, it was the reigning champ who owned the night.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the night and break down the three fights we looked at in our UFC 302 preview.
Prelim Highlights
Coming off of a loss that derailed his long-building momentum, Jailton Almeida looked to right the ship in a big fight against fellow heavyweight contender Alexandr Romanov. It didn’t take long for him to look for the takedown and, on his second attempt, he scored one. With the clear grappling advantage, as he so often displays, Almeida moved from one dominant positon to another and eventually locked in a rear naked choke to secure the victory. Back in the win column, Almeida should be looking at a very big fight his next time out and could be closing in on a championship opportunity.
In just his second UFC contest, Cesar Almeida not only drew the feature prelim, but swung from an underdog to the favorite against a very game Roman Kopylov after bettors moved the lines. This figured to be a standup battle between two very talented strikers, but Alemeida’s reputation preceded him to his own detriment. Kopylov mixed things up and scored takedown after takedown. Almeida had no answer for the unlikely grappling game of Kopylov and it led to uneventful ground control for almost 15 full minutes. The result was a big win for Kopylov and a learning experience for Almeida in just his sixth professional fight.
Main Card Highlights
While the Newark crowd mostly ignored the action in the octagon, Randy Brown opened up nicely against Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos in the opening bout of the main card. The much longer fighter, Brown used his reach advantage to fire off his jab and control the striking game. He landed a huge knee in the closing seconds of the round that seemed to hurt Dos Santos, but he survived the round. In the second, Dos Santos scored a takedown and controlled the position, seemingly coming very close to a submission victory on a couple of occasions. Brown reversed the position in the closing moments though and looked to secure a submission of his own before the bell. In the final round, Brown landed another big knee and once again controlled the striking. Dos Santos scored one more takedown in the later moments but he was unable to sway the judges as Brown took the unanimous decision victory. The interesting side story of this fight was some poor officiating. After Dos Santos suffered an eye poke, referee Gasper Oliver briefly halted the action before rushing both fighters back to the center of the octagon, rather than asking Dos Santos if he was ready, as per the rule. It’s an interesting development and one worth monitoring.
In an interesting matchup between two welterweight contenders, Alex Morono looked to be slightly sharper than Niko Price in the early going. Morono was the faster of the two fighters, getting off some good combinations in the early going. However, the second round saw a big switch as Morono quickly fatigued and Price took over. Price scored several takedowns and looked much fresher in the striking game. By the start of the third, Morono’s body language was troublesome while Price took the center of the octagon with conviction. Price once again controlled the round with both the striking and his takedowns and secured a seemingly easy decision victory.
Kevin Holland def. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Kevin Holland made the jump from welterweight back up to middleweight for this showdown with Michal Oleksiejczuk and it proved to be a good move. Both fighters came out aggressive and it was actually Oleksiejczuk who scored early, landing a couple of big shots on Holland. The second shot dropped Holland and Oleksiejczuk pounced to look for some ground and pound. Holland maintained his composure though and looked to work for a submission. He locked up an armbar and it was clear that it was in deep. Oleksiejczuk showed some next level toughness, not submitting to the armbar and forcing Holland to break his arm, which could be clearly seen on the broadcast. Referee Herb Dean was forced to step in and call the fight after seeing his arm pop, sentencing Oleksiejczuk to a technical submission loss. It was a very impressive recovery and a big win for Holland, who said after the fight he will continue to bounce between welterweight and middleweight.
My pick: Holland via 3rd round knockout
Result: Holland via first round submission
Sean Strickland def. Paulo Costa
The former middleweight champ Sean Strickland decided not to wait for a championship rematch and instead accepted a matchup with seventh-ranked contender Paulo Costa. Strickland unsurprisingly employed his aggressive, forward-moving style and had Costa backing up right from the start. However, while that was the story of the fight, Strickland actually did very little to distance himself on the scorecards. He landed a few good shots, but Costa did as well and it was a very close fight. Costa was unable to ever really open up his offense outside of a few strong low kicks and Strickland checked a couple of those, seemingly hurting Costa. Again though, neither fighter ever really got off much and the fight went the distance with the decision very much up in the air. The judges’ scorecards were all over the place, but it was Strickland who was awarded the split decision. His next fight will almost definitely be for the middleweight championship again.
My pick: Strickland via decision
Result: Strickland via decision
Islam Makhachev def. Dustin Poirier
The top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter has a mystique about him as he walks to the octagon, but if there’s one fighter in the sport who is never truly counted out of a fight, it’s Dustin Poirier. Islam Makhachev was dominant in the early going, scoring a takedown and taking his opponent’s back. Poirier defended well though and survived the first round. That round built Poirier’s confidence a bit and he was able to stuff three more takedown attempts from the champ in the second round. Makhachev controlled the majority of the fight, but Poirier had his moments and impressively hung with the champ all the way into the fifth round. He even landed a big elbow that cut the champ and had some momentum after the fourth. After another hardfought takedown, Makhachev locked in a choke and Poirier was forced to tap out. Afterwards, Poirier explained to his opponent that, moments after he tapped, he actually went unconscious from the choke. After the fight, Makhachev said he plans to challenge for the welterweight championship next, which would make for a very exciting fight between him and Leon Edwards. Meanwhile, Poirier took his post-fight interview to announce his potential retirement from the sport, though he wasn’t willing to say for certain that will be the case. If it is, it was a very impressive career.
My pick: Makhachev via 3rd round submission
Result: Makhachev via 5th round submission
The UFC will return to ESPN+ on Saturday, June 8 for UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov. Be sure to check back for a preview of the event.