Easy money for Makhachev? The American star was thrown to the mercy of the champion

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Already eventful first weekend of summer (Champions League and Russian Cup finals plus the fight of Dmitry Bivol) will delight Russian fans of mixed martial arts (MMA) with the 302nd number tournament of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), at which the third defense of the title will be carried out by the champion in the lightweight division, the best fighter in the league regardless of weight categories (P4P) Islam Makhachev. Sport is about a fight in which there is practically no intrigue.

UFC 302

• < br>When: June 1 (on the night of 2 Moscow time);
• Where: Prudential Center arena, Newark (New Jersey, USA);
• What time: the tournament starts at 01:00 Moscow time, the main card — at 05:00 Moscow time;
• Where to watch: the online broadcast will be available on the official UFC Fight Pass service. On public television, the broadcast will begin at five o'clock in the morning;
• Odds: 1.2 versus 6.0 — the Russian is rightfully considered the clear favorite.

After two victories over Alexander Volkanovski, 32-year-old Makhachev announced his intention to fight at the beginning of the summer. The promotion's management listened to the Dagestani and put the best UFC fighter at the head of the June event in the States. But there were big problems with choosing an opponent — there were simply no worthy contenders.

• Charles Oliveiraat the anniversary UFC 300 he lost to Russian Arman Tsarukyan and failed to earn the “title”. Two defeats in the last three fights — it seems that the Brazilian’s career is on the decline.
• Justin Gaethjeon the same show could have earned a chance to meet with Makhachev thanks to a spectacular victory over the organization's former featherweight champion Max Holloway. It turned out really spectacular! Only Highlight ended the fight unconscious: a second before the end of the match, the American was knocked out.

Makhachev’s compatriot Tsarukyandefeated Oliveira in the candidate's match and deserved revenge. However, the number one ranked lightweight refused to take the fight less than two months after the grand UFC 300 — a logical decision before the most important confrontation.

I had to respect Dustin “Diamond” Poirier. In March, the American lightweight defeated the Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis ahead of schedule at the 299th numbered tournament in Miami. It turned out cool: the co-main event of the evening ended with a knockout in the second round — a hungry prospect with five victories in a row could not cope with the 35-year-old MMA veteran (and a staphylococcal infection that ruined the final stage of the athlete’s preparation) and will now begin his journey to the top from scratch.

But did Poirier deserve a meeting with Makhachev? Probably not:

• two early defeats in the last four fights;

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already fought for the belt twice and lost both times;

• in the summer of 2023, he fought for the belt (though for the title of “The Most Dangerous Gangster”) and, having missed a kick to the head from Gaethje, passed out.

However, when the UFC has no choice, they always call trusted people. Poirier is loyal to the company: he has been fighting in the league since 2011, has 22 wins (11 by knockout/TKO), has nine bonuses for “Fight of the Night” and four bonuses for “Performance of the Night,” and, together with Drew Dober, holds the division record for the most knockouts. Diamond also defeated Conor McGregor twice in 2021, which seriously affected the recognition of the Louisiana native.

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“Dustin, be ready. Fight a lot in training. I will protect my neck, I will be ready to your guillotine. Of course, this capture will not happen in our fight, but I will be ready,” Makhachev addressed his opponent during an interview with TMZ Sports.

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Returning to Poirier’s unsuccessful attempts to become the absolute UFC champion (the American tried on the temporary belt around his waist), we note that at the end of 2021 he was strangled by Oliveira, and in 2019 by Khabib Nurmagomedov. The fight with Eagle is a spoiler for how Dustin’s meeting with Makhachev should go: complete dominance of the champion-favorite on the ground and the challenger’s hopes for a lucky punch in the standing position and a choke hold on the ground.

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And while Makhachev is thinking about moving up to the welterweight division for the second belt (currently held by Briton Leon Edwards), after defeating Poirier, Poirier is hinting at leaving mixed martial arts. You can understand the American: the potential member of the UFC Hall of Fame may not have enough strength and motivation to achieve a fourth chance after the third defeat in the championship match.

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"< strong>This fight could be my last. I haven't made an official decision yet, but anything can happen…I have already said that I am in good shape, I can beat young guys — I recently did this. The question is how much I want to give to this sport, because fights do not pass without a trace. But I don’t want to make decisions based only on what I feel. First I have to go into the cage and fight.» (Championship Rounds)

Full list fights UFC 302
Main card:

• Islam Makhachev — Dustin Poirier;
• Sean Strickland — Paulo Costa;
• Kevin Holland — Michal Oleksiychuk;
• Jailton Almeida — Alexander Romanov;
• Randy Brown — Eliseu Zaleski.

< u>Preliminary card:

• Roman Kopylov — Cesar Almeida;
• Grant Dawson — Joe Solecki;
• Jake Matthews — Philip Rowe;
• Niko Price — Alex Morono;
• Mickey Gall — Bassil Hafez;
• Jocelyn Edwards — Eileen Perez;
• Nyamjargal Tumendemberel — Andre Lima.