Storylines: UFC 302

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

Islam Makhachev has filled the enormous shoes of his longtime mentor quite admirably.

The Khabib Nurmagomedov protégé will put his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title on the line against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 headliner this Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Makhachev steps back into view with the wind of a remarkable 13-fight winning streak in his sails. The 32-year-old Russian last fought at UFC 294, where he closed the book on his two-fight series against Alexander Volkanovski in emphatic fashion and stopped the City Kickboxing star with a head kick and follow-up punches in the first round of their Oct. 21 rematch. Makhachev has secured 16 of his 25 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. On the other side of the ledger, Poirier has won nine of his past 12 bouts. The American Top Team mainstay last competed on March 9, when he punched out Benoit St. Denis in the second round of their UFC 299 pairing. Already well established as one of the most popular UFC fighters of all-time, Poirier’s outstanding resume includes wins over Conor McGregor (twice), Max Holloway (twice), Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis.

The Makhachev-Poirier showdown and its resulting fallout for the lightweight division is but one storyline to watch at UFC 302. Here are three more:

Brute Force

Paulo Costa has lost much of the luster that surrounded him after he started his career with 13 straight victories and established himself as the No. 1 contender for the UFC middleweight crown. Nevertheless, he remains an intriguing physical specimen ahead of his co-main event opposite Sean Strickland. Costa, 33, has compiled a disappointing 1-3 record across his last four appearances, though all three of those defeats were suffered against top-shelf opponents: Israel Adesanya, Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker. In Strickland, he faces one of the sport’s most polarizing figures. The 33-year-old Xtreme Couture representative finds himself on the rebound, having surrendered the undisputed middleweight championship in a contentious split decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 on Jan. 20. It was Strickland’s first setback in more than a year and put a stop to his three-fight winning streak. Can Costa rise to the occasion and re-establish himself as a primetime player at 185 pounds?

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

Bottom-Rung Business

Kevin Holland appears to have drifted into a state of limbo inside the UFC welterweight division. The 28-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series graduate looks to get back on the rails when he confronts Michal Oleksiejczuk in a three-round attraction at 170 pounds. Holland enters the Octagon on the heels of back-to-back losses to Jack Della Maddalena and Michael Page, having fallen all the way to the bottom of the Top 15 rankings. He still holds a respectable 12-8 record in the UFC, with wins over Michael Chiesa, Santiago Ponzinibbio, Tim Means and former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza. Oleksiejczuk, meanwhile, continues to run hot and cold. The onetime Thunderstrike Fight League titleholder last suited up at UFC 299, where he was put to sleep by a rear-naked choke from the surging Michel Pereira in the first round of their March 9 encounter. Oleksiejczuk has never won or lost more than two fights in a row since he joined the UFC roster in 2019. Will Holland regain his bearings enough to make another push toward welterweight contention?

Fire with Fire

Those who operate on the fringes can only do so for so long before they begin to meet with diminishing returns. Such a fate could someday await Randy Brown or Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. The two 170-pound action heroes are set to lock horns in a three-round welterweight showcase where neither man can afford to take a step backward. Brown, who turns 34 in July, answers his latest call to arms with wins in eight of his past 10 outings, though his ascent has been stalled by ill-timed losses to Vicente Luque and the aforementioned Della Maddalena. The former Ring of Combat champion last strapped on the gloves on Feb. 3, when he punched out Muslim Salikhov a little more than three minutes into their UFC Fight Night 235 clash. On the other side of the equation, Zaleski dos Santos marches back into combat on a three-fight unbeaten streak. However, the 37-year-old CM System rep and onetime Jungle Fight titleholder settled for a majority draw with Rinat Fakhretdinov in his most recent assignment at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4. Which violent-minded welterweight emerges with his hand raised?