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4 Positives & 6 Negatives From UFC 302: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier

By Harvey Leonard

On Saturday night, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest pay-per-view event, UFC 302.

After a pretty low-key affair down in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the May numbered card, the UFC was back on United States soil for a show in Newark, New Jersey, where it was unrivaled dominance versus the completion of a story.

Headlining was lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev, who put his gold on the line against an established 155-pound contender for the first time. If he was to tie Khabib Nurmagomedov and Benson Henderson’s record for defenses in the division, the Dagestani had to prevent a potential fairytale ending to the career of Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier.

Intrigue was also on the co-headliner, which saw former middleweight champion Sean Strickland enter the cage for the first time since losing his title to Dricus Du Plessis this past January. In his way of a quick rebound victory was the always dangerous (and unpredictable, both verbally and physically) Paulo Costa.

Elsewhere, notable names like Kevin Holland, Randy Brown, Jailton Almeida, and Bassil Hafez all looked to leave Prudential Center with victories. But did they come together to form an entertaining night of fights?

Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC 302.

Negative – Good To See The New Gloves Help…

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the promotion’s new glove design did absolutely (excuse my French) f**k all to solve the main issue that has long been visible at practically every event.

No matter how many adjectives and long, technical words the UFC put in its announcement of the new design prior to UFC 300, the absence of the word “poke” was immediately pointed to as a concern.

And in a story of irony that even Jim Carrey couldn’t have played up, poor Mitch Raposo had to absorb multiple eye pokes from André Lima.

Spending thousands on a new glove design that solves issues people hadn’t even thought of instead of, you know, just fixing the problem everyone is aware of is quite something from the UFC.

Also, you’re not getting away without a word, too, Herb Dean.

If I hear the words “hard warning” followed by no point deduction after another foul, I’m going to lose my mind. Not only did Lima deliver another poke, he then completed an egregious fence grab while Raposo attempted to take him down.

Superb start to the night.

Negative – Don’t Let It Go To The Scorecards

Whenever I write negatives on judging, I always starts with a note on how I’m among those more inclined to defend the work of those cageside than criticize and believe the debate surrounding judging is largely born out of the fanbase’s lack of understanding regarding the scoring criteria.

With that in mind, it usually takes something particularly bad for me to see little to no justification for a scorecard. That was the case with Dave Tirelli’s 29-28 for Mitch Raposo in the opening fight of the night at UFC 302.

The idea that the American won that fight is ludicrous to me following initial viewing, and had another judge followed suit, it would have gone down as a sure-fire robbery — given that I usually mock those who cry robbery after decisions, I don’t use that word lightly.

One thing I will say, however, is the talented Aaron Bronsteter saw things a lot closer than us at home did. While sat behind a judge, the Canadian reporter perceived the bout as a tight affair, reminding us just how different the in-person experience can be.

From one angle cageside, judging isn’t an easy job. It seems like a major flaw of MMA that fights can appear so different depending on whether someone is watching from a judge’s seat or from home.

Hammering home the suggestion that UFC 302 fighters should have been particularly keen to find a finish were a pair of 30-27 scorecards for Bassil Hafez a couple of fights later. There’s no doubt in mind that Hafez won, but there’s also little doubt that Mickey Gall’s work in round three was enough to be rewarded.

Oh, and honorable mentions for 29-28 César Almeida, 30-27 Grant Dawson, and 49-46 Paulo Costa (Tirelli, again). 

Thankfully, no fighter walked away with a wrong result. But it’s only a matter of time until someone does.

Positive – WAR

The UFC 302 preliminary card was held in decision city. Thankfully, while we did get an utter snoozefest in Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki, we got the opposite when Hafez and Gall did battle.

Topping the early prelims, Hafez proved that his surprisingly strong performance in a short-notice debut against the high-ranked Jack Della Maddalena was no fluke, walking Gall down and landing some heavy blows across the duration of three rounds.

And for Gall, while he may have lost a third straight fight, he was coming from a lengthy layoff following back surgery, and his late rally suggested that he’s set to be a tough out for up-and-coming welterweights moving forward.

The highlight of this fight was the third and final round, with the pair channeling their inner Max Holloway to throw down with reckless abandon in the dying seconds. 

Violence was fairly sporadic throughout UFC 302. It was frequent in this clash.

Positive – God Bless You, Almeida

I’m not a religious person, but I pray to whatever higher power may be out there when heavyweights enter the Octagon. What do I ask for? A quick finish and the prevention of a classic full-distance slog.

Of all the people to answer my prayers, Jailton Almeida was a turn up for the books.

That surprise is an exaggeration, of course. Prior to his showdown with Derrick Lewis last November, “Malhadinho” was a prolific and destructive finisher. But five rounds of nothing against “The Black Beast” and a similar strategy against Curtis Blaydes prior to being hammer-fisted to a defeat changed the narrative. 

The Brazilian went someway toward getting his hype back on Saturday night, however, when he submitted Alexandr Romanov in quick time during the UFC 302 prelims.

Having had no finishes up to that point and just witnessed close to 15 minutes of control from Dawson, Almeida’s finish was as needed to boost UFC 302 as it was to reinvigorate his career.

Negative – Where’s Sanko When You Need Her?

Death, taxes, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier having no clue how fights are scored.

Judging is far from perfect in MMA. Dave Tirelli displayed that much with his work on Saturday night. But equally as worrying as some unjustifiable scorecards is the utter tripe spouted by the UFC commentary team.

It’s nothing new. For years, the likes of Cormier and Dominick Cruz have shown that despite their illustrious fighting careers, they still have zero idea on what the judges are actually looking for. That’s left the latter believing a cut sustained in a later round could influence the scoring of an entire fight.

“DC,” meanwhile, is a serial offender when it comes to nonsense about control time, along with Rogan. They were at it again during UFC 302, suggesting that a near fight-ending choke and clean elbow from the bottom on the side of Joe Solecki wasn’t enough to overcome Grant Dawson’s control time, which came with limited offense.

That is, of course, not true.

The frustrating part here was that only one judge rewarded Solecki for a clear advantage in effective offense that could lead to the conclusion of the fight — as is laid out in the scoring criteria. The immediate weighs more than the cumulative, and that made round one clear for Solecki, in my eyes. Even if you are going to justify the round going to Dawson, you simply can’t do so by mentioning control time.

Oh, but how Rogan and Cormier’s tune changed when it was a Russian laying on top instead of an American.

Roman Kopylov followed his early success in the striking realm by smothering César Almeida on the ground. It was during this exchange when the pair stated that control time wasn’t enough and began discussing standups.

Wouldn’t be clear and obvious bias would it, boys?

The sooner Laura Sanko — the only commentator who seems willing to do her job correctly — is made a permanent fixture cageside, the better.

Negative – Gasper Oliver

I’ve seen some shoddy refereeing in my time, but what Gasper Oliver did at UFC 302 really takes the cake.

The main card opened with Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. And in a further advert for the promotion’s new glove design, the Brazilian was the victim of a deep eye poke in round one.

Referee Oliver correctly separated the pair and paused the action. Seconds later, though, he randomly insisted the fight continue, denying Zaleski dos Santos any time to recover. When the capoeira specialist endured another poke shortly after, Oliver didn’t even go as far as to stop the bout.

Jason Herzog was fortunately on hand to educate the third man inside the Octagon between rounds, but referees requiring in-cage tuition isn’t exactly encouraging.

Welcome, Gasper Oliver, to the Kerry Hatley tier of officiating. 

Negative – Who Made That Decision?

I’m sure whoever decided to bump Alex Morono vs. Niko Price 2 to the main card had their reasons. What those reasons are, however, is unclear.

Originally set for PPV was Almeida vs. Romanov. I’d normally be praising a late switch that saw heavyweights taken off the main slate, but what we got instead was a second chapter to a matchup that delivered an unenjoyable 15 minutes of viewing. 

At this point in their careers, power is not something either Morono or Price have in spades. With that, as the pair fatigued and actually resembled the kind of slog I was concerned about seeing from the heavyweights, any vulnerability was offset by what looked to essentially be pillow-fisted punches.

The main card started well with an entertaining scrap from a pair of high-level welterweights. Insert the opposites of “entertaining” and “high-level” and you’ll have an accurate description of the main card’s sophomore bout.

Positive – Stomach Turner

Nothing makes you question your own brain quite like putting a grim injury down as a positive. That’s MMA, folks…

Kevin Holland by way of submission was a strong possibility heading into his short-notice middleweight return at UFC 302. But Holland by way of one of the most gruesome armbars in recent memory was not necessarily on many people’s bingo cards.

Things looked a little scary for “Trailblazer” when he was dropped by a hard Michał Oleksiejczuk left hand. But after he quickly got ahold of the Polish fighter’s arm (to which Oleksiejczuk had the reaction time of a tortoise), he quickly transitioned from on the ropes to on the ascendancy.

I’ll be honest, as Holland twisted his opponent’s arm in unnatural ways, I looked away. Through a gap in my fingers, I did see the moment Oleksiejczuk’s arm bent, snapped, hyperextended — whatever form of mangled it was in. The fact he still didn’t tap is ludicrous.

On a card that had just one finish up to that point, Holland’s quick and violent submission was a welcome moment of shock.

Negative – Predictable 

Should we really expect anything different when Sean Strickland fights?

Strickland is a perennial point-fighter, yet we hear shouts of “get ready for a bloodbath” and “we’re gonna go in that cage and try to kill each other for your entertainment” at every press conference.

At this point, can fans just laugh instead of cheer? Because the notion of “Tarzan” going in and brawling anyone is as likely as Joe Biden getting a walkout alongside Dana White at a UFC event.

The former champion’s co-main event against Paulo Costa at UFC 302 was frankly terrible. 24 minutes and 40 seconds of nothing until Strickland did his obligatory late sprint to try and draw some cheers. That’s the negative here, especially on a card that also massively underdelivered in the fights prior. 

But, Strickland is extremely good at what he does. No matter what comes back at him (in this instance, not much), it’s impossible not to give him credit for creating a style and implementing it well time and time again.

It’s just a shame that style is among the dullest in the UFC.

https://twitter.com/AOUREDOO/status/1797120559420961073

Positive – Shining In Defeat

Dustin Poirier may not have completed his story in the way he and many had wished for, but the UFC 302 main event was not a bad way to go out.

That’s if “The Diamond” has reached the end, of course. He was noncommittal post-fight as he came to terms with his third failed attempt at reaching the undisputed throne in the UFC lightweight division.

Of his championship performances, none were more impressive than his effort in Newark. “The Diamond’s” improvements since being submitted by Khabib Nuyrmagomedov and Charles Oliveira was evident, and he certainly had Makhachev on the ropes at times.

The Russian standout, however, proved to be too good. And while some choose to detract from his reign owing to the competitive nature of Saturday’s headliner, Makhachev’s performance was more than impressive.

That’s not least on the feet, where the champ pieces Poirier up at times with beautiful combinations. The Makhachev and Khabib debate rages on, but there’s little doubt who has the edge on the feet.

Ultimately, Poirier fell victim to an ankle pick and D’arce choke late on. But after a valiant performance in defeat, the Louisianan cemented himself as a legend of the sport who doesn’t need the undisputed crown on his résumé to deserve top plaudits.

Oh, and after a lackluster event, what a way to finish things off.

Harvey Leonard
Harvey Leonard has been at MMA News since 2021 and lead writer since 2023. He has built experience writing and creating content for publications like Sportskeeda, GiveMeSport, and WhatCulture. He has a degree in Sports Journalism, having graduated from Southampton Solent University in England in 2020.

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