Islam Makhachev is heavily favored against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier on Saturday, June 1 in Newark, New Jersey. This event is one of five fights on the main pay-per-view card. Makhachev is 25-1 in his career, while Poirier is 30-8 in his career. There are a total of 12 fights, with five on Pay-Per-View, four on ESPN2/ESPN+, and three on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass at UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier. Let’s look at the bout between Makhachev and Poirier and UFC predictions.
UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier takes place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, June 1 with 12 fights, with five on Pay-Per-View, four on ESPN2/ESPN+, and three on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier Betting
Islam Makhachev (25-1, 14-1 UFC)
Makhachev came into the UFC with a record of 11-0 and he has 14 wins and one loss in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has six wins and no losses. He defeated Alexander Volkanovski twice with once by KO and once by unanimous decision, Charles Oliveira by arm-triangle choke submission, Bobby Green by TKO, Dan Hooker by kimura submission, and Thiago Moisés by rear-naked choke submission. Makhachev’s only loss in his career was against Adriano Martins by KO in October of 2015. Makhachev has been a pro since 2010 and he has five wins by TKO/KO and 11 by submission. He has 10 first round finishes.
Makhachev said this to mmafighting.com about his upcoming fight against Poirier, “I think this fight will be beneficial for us to review and build a plan together. When Khabib was preparing for him, we trained together, and I was already involved in the discussion of the fight preparation plan against Dustin. I don’t think the preparation and plan for the fight will differ much because we know Dustin’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov said this to mmafighting.com about the upcoming fight between Makhachev and Poirier, Many people underestimate Dustin Poirier. I personally fought him, spent three rounds and over 10 minutes with him, and I have a good sense of his strengths and weaknesses. We are working hard on these aspects. Dustin is very experienced; he’s been in many battles already. Yes, he has lost, but he also has many victories in the UFC, more than 22 or 23 wins. Using our slang, he is a seasoned warrior.
You can’t take him lightly. We have great respect for Dustin, but on June 1, he is our opponent. We have a clearly developed plan for the fight, and I believe Islam will follow it. I really hope that Islam will finish him off in the second or third round.”
Dustin Poirier (30-8, 22-7 UFC)
Poirier came into the UFC with a record of 8-1 and he has 22 wins and seven losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has four wins and two losses. He defeated Benoît Saint Denis by KO, Michael Chandler by rear-naked choke submission, and Conor McGregor twice with both by TKO; while losing to Justin Gaethje by KO, and Charles Oliveira by rear-naked choke submission. Poirier has been a pro since 2009 and he has 15 wins by TKO/KO and eight by submission. He has 13 first round finishes.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Makhachev 2.46 / Poirier 5.45
Striking Accuracy: Makhachev 60% / Poirier 51%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Makhachev 1.27 / Poirier 4.36
Defense: Makhachev 61% / Poirier 53%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Makhachev 3.17/ Poirier 1.33
Takedown Accuracy: Makhachev 60% / Poirier 36%
Takedowns defended: Makhachev 90% / Poirier 63%
Submission average: Makhachev 1.0/ Poirier 1.4
UFC Picks
The UFC betting odds on this fight heavily favor Makhachev at about 7-1 and obviously, I am not laying that type of number. Poirier is a very talented fighter and he is not without a chance. Makhachev should win this fight, but the UFC odds are ridiculously high. The rounds are listed at 2.5 with the under favored at -165. I know that some people expect a finish in this fight and maybe it happens, but I think Poirier is tough enough to hang around for a while. We get +131 on the rounds going over 2.5 and that is my top play for this fight.
| DATE | FIGHTERS | MONEY LINE |
| 06/01 | Dustin Poirier | +456 |
| Islam Makhachev | -700 |
| 06/01 | Paulo Costa | +186 |
| Sean Strickland | -240 |
| 06/01 | Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos | +140 |
| Randy Brown | -177 |
| 06/01 | Roman Kopylov | -103 |
| César Almeida | -127 |
| 06/01 | Alex Morono | -240 |
| Niko Price | +186 |
| 06/01 | Alexander Romanov | +211 |
| Jailton Almeida | -275 |
| 06/01 | Bassil Hafez | -365 |
| Mickey Gall | +270 |
| 06/01 | Jake Matthews | -165 |
| Philip Rowe | +131 |
| 06/01 | Joe Solecki | +360 |
| Grant Dawson | -515 |
| 06/01 | Joselyne Edwards | +154 |
| Ailín Pérez | -195 |
| 06/01 | Michal Oleksiejczuk | +221 |
| Kevin Holland | -290 |
| 06/01 | Mitch Raposo | +197 |
| Andre Lima | -255 |
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