Preview: UFC 302 ‘Makhachev vs. Poirier’

Order Now! UFC 302 "Makhachev vs. Poirier" Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Middleweights

#15 WW | Kevin Holland (25-11, 12-8 UFC) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-7, 7-5 UFC)

ODDS: Holland (-265), Oleksiejczuk (+215)

There’s not much at stake in this one, but a Holland fight is always a good time, particularly as a late addition to make up for some other fights falling through on this card. Holland made his UFC debut on late notice in 2018 and immediately set the tone for his willingness to try everything, starting off his run with an attempted flying triangle choke against Thiago Santos. From there, Holland proved a welcome addition to any card while keeping up an active schedule, and he was a major beneficiary of the promotion’s post-pandemic matchmaking scramble. Holland’s trash talking was a perfect fit for an otherwise quiet atmosphere, and his star rose as he kept stepping in on short turnarounds and racking up wins. The hope was that “Trailblazer” could break through as a middleweight contender come 2021, but it instead wound up as a winless year, mostly due to Holland’s lack of defensive wrestling getting exposed by Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. The 2022 campaign saw Holland cut down to welterweight, which has been a mixed bag. He’s massive for the division and dangerous as a result, but he seems buoyed by those facts rather than relying on his technical skill, making for some messy performances where Holland tends to give up some unnecessary ground. After losses to Jack Della Maddalena and Michael Page, Holland has plateaued for the moment. However, with his active schedule, he’s likely to find himself back on a winning streak in short order, which could start in a one-off move up to middleweight against Oleksiejczuk.

Order Now! UFC 302 "Makhachev vs. Poirier" Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Oleksiejczuk came to the UFC as a light heavyweight in 2017, and his success came as a pleasant surprise. With an approach built around absorbing offense and outlasting his opponents on the regional scene, the Pole figured to get knocked out at the UFC level but instead just kept making that work. However, as Oleksiejczuk began to work behind a more aggressive style, he found himself running into finishes and decided to cut down to 185 pounds in 2022. Oleksiejczuk has had his moments as a middleweight, but things haven’t changed much. He’s still prone to getting finished by better athletes, which was on display in a quick loss to Michel Pereira in March. Oleksiejczuk figures to run into a similar dynamic here, even if Holland’s inefficiency might let him find a groove before the fight suddenly turns around. The pick is Holland via second-round submission.

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Makhachev vs. Poirier
Strickland vs. Costa
Holland vs. Oleksiejczuk
Almeida vs. Romanov
Brown vs. dos Santos
The Prelims