Costa Curse Could Erase Makhachev’s Title Reign

If you’re a UFC champion, the last thing you wanna do is share a card with Paulo Costa.

That’s because the Brazilian has been nothing but bad luck for titleholders not named Israel Adesanya, who defeated “The Eraser” at UFC 253 back in late 2020. Fortunately for “The Last Stylebender,” he was able to take matters into his own hands.

Islam Makhachev will have no such luck.

The reigning lightweight champion will face No. 4-ranked contender and former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier atop the UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) mixed martial arts (MMA) event this Sat. night (June 1, 2024) at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

On the bright side, Makhachev has yet to cover the EA Sports UFC game.

Costa will battle Sean Strickland in the UFC 302 middleweight co-main event this weekend in “The Garden State” and Bareknuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) headliner Mike Perry has already coughed up $50,000 in favor of the Brazilian.

Maybe Drake can bet on Poirier to even the odds.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 302 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 302 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.