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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Matt Erickson

UFC 302: How to watch Makhachev vs. Poirier title fight, start time, Newark fight card, odds, more

UFC Islam Makhachev Sean Strickland Dustin Poirier Paulo Costa UFC 302 (Event) ESPN Newark ESPN2 Alexander Volkanovski

The UFC’s sixth pay-per-view event of 2024 goes down Saturday in Newark, N.J.

Here’s how to watch UFC 302 with the lightweight title on the line at the top of the card.

Broadcast and streaming info

UFC 302 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (via ESPN+). The four-fight prelim card airs on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET, and three early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. ET.

Laura Sanko, Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith will serve as a desk analysts on the UFC 302 post-fight show and throughout the card, when necessary.

Longtime UFC correspondent Olivi will conduct pre and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the UFC 302 card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.

Jon Anik will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside.

He will command play-by-play alongside color commentators, former two-division champion Cormier, as well as Joe Rogan.

Din Thomas also will occasionally join the booth throughout the broadcast as the coach-analyst for the event.

– Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie

Main event: Islam Makhachev

Russia’s Islam Makhachev reacts after his Lightweight bout against Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski during the Ultimate Fighting Championship 294 (UFC) event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 22, 2023. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Record: 25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC
Opponent: Dustin Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Key wins: Alexander Volkanovski (twice), Charles Oliveira, Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Arman Tsarukyan
Misc.: The 32-year-old Makhachev grew up with Khabib Nurmagomedov and has trained with him every step of the way. This will be his third attempted title defense after back-to-back wins over Volkanovski.

Main event: Dustin Poirier

Mar 9, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Benoit Saint Denis (blue gloves) fights Dustin Poirier (red gloves) during UFC 299 at Kayesa Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC
Opponent: Islam Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Key wins: Benoit Saint Denis, Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Max Holloway (twice), Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis
Misc.: Poirier has his third crack at an undisputed UFC title. He beat Holloway to win an interim belt in 2019, but lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his first true title shot. After his win over Hooker and two finishes of McGregor, he was submitted by Charles Oliveira in his second crack at the belt.

Co-main event: Paulo Costa

Feb 17, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Paulo Costa gestures toward Robert Whittaker during UFC 298 at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC
Opponent: Sean Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Key wins: Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, Uriah Hall, Johny Hendricks
Misc.: After a 13-0 start to his career, Costa got a title shot in 2020, but was knocked out by Israel Adesanya. Since then, he’s dropped fights to former champion Robert Whittaker and former title challenger Marvin Vettori. A Fight of the Night war with ex-champ Rockhold is the one bright spot the past four years, so a win over an ex-champ like Strickland could be of paramount importance.

Co-main event: Sean Strickland

Jan 20, 2024; Toronto, Canada, USA; Sean Strickland (red glove) fights Dricus Du Plessis (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC
Opponent: Paulo Costa (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Key wins: Israel Adesanya, Jack Hermansson, Uriah Hall, Brendan Allen
Misc.: Strickland cashed in on a bit of a surprise title shot that came on the heels of wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Abusupiyan Magomedov and largely dominated Adesanya to win the title this past September. His reign lasted just four months; he lost the belt to Dricus du Plessis in January.

UFC debut: Mitch Raposo

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: Mitch Raposo prepares to fight Jake Hadley in a flyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season five, week seven at UFC APEX on October 12, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Record: 9-1
Opponent: Andre Lima (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Division: Flyweight
Key wins: Justin Valentin (for Cage Titans flyweight title)
Misc.: The 25-year-old Raposo is just three years removed from Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” After that season, he lost to current UFC fighter Jake Hadley on Dana White’s Contender Series. But since then, he has four straight stoppages, a Cage Titans title, and now a short-notice second chance with the UFC.