Islam Makhachev closing as big betting favorite to beat Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 this weekend in New Jersey

Opening as a significant betting favorite to successfully defend his lightweight crown this weekend against Dustin Poirier, undisputed champion, Islam Makhachev is now closing as a big favorite to beat the Lafayette native in their UFC 302 headliner.

Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion and pound-for-pound number one, is slated to return to the Octagon for the first time this year – this weekend, as he takes on Lafayette veteran, Poirier at UFC 302 in New Jersey. 

As for Poirier, the Louisana native has been sidelined since he turned in a second round rallying knockout win over the surging, Benoit Saint-Denis back in February at UFC 299.

Islam Makhachev remains huge favorite to beat Dustin Poirier

And opening as a big betting underdog to beat Islam Makhachev this weekend, Dustin Poirier is drawing a sizeable +255 betting line to topple the immovable Russian – who himself is a massive -370 betting favorite.

Fans hoping to get in on the late action this weekend at UFC 302 in the promotion’s return to the East Coast can still bet up until the bout – and even enjoy some notable prop bets during the action. And for fans and punters of a host of casino slots can also utilize slotcalender.us to find the best and most well-recognized slot games. 

Returning for the first time since closing the door definitively on his rivalry with former featherweight kingpin, Alexander Volkanovski back in October of last year, Makhachev finished the Australian with a blistering round high-kick knockout in their Abu Dhabi.

And hoping to dismantle Poirier with aplomb this weekend in Newark, Islam Makhachev laid out a very concise plan to submit the Lafayette striker – with his coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov backing his student to end the bout inside the opening 10 minutes of their headliner.

“Many people underestimate Dustin Poirier,” Khabib Nurmagomedov said. “I personally fought him, spent three 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 Poirier is very experienced; he’s been in many battles already,” Khabib Nurmagomedov explained. “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 (Makhachev) will follow it. I really hope that Islam will finish him off in the second or third round.” 

However, as for Poirier, the former interim champion – who toppled Max Holloway back in 2019 in a rematch to land gold, claimed he would not be surprised if it transpired Islam Makhachev was significantly underestimating the challenge he brings at UFC 302.

“I haven’t been keeping up a whole lot but when I was at the gym, Mike Brown told me, ‘Man, i think this guy (Islam Makhachev) may be underestimating your Jiu-Jitsu and underestimating how dangerous you are.’” Dustin Poirier said. “I think what he was referring to was an interview with Islam saying, ‘This is an easy fight for me.’ I was tagged in a bunch of stuff on Instagram and Twitter of him saying that.”

“And I don’t know, maybe he goes about all fights like that, but I can finish and beat anybody at 155 pounds in the world,” Dustin Poirier explained. “I really believe that. And he doesn’t have to believe it. I’m the one who has to believe it and go out there and beat his a**. I can do that.”

Who are you backing this weekend to win at UFC 302: Islam Makhachev or Dustin Poirier?