5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 302

Islam Makhachev is still the king of the lightweights, but the once-beaten Russian has some very tough challenges on the horizon.

Makhachev was back in action in the main event of Saturday's UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey, defending the promotion's lightweight title against former interim champ Dustin Poirier. It was supposed to be an easy fight for the champion, but he ultimately had to dig deep for the fifth-round submission he used to defend his belt.

After the win, Makhachev has plenty of options. There are several contenders in the lightweight division awaiting a shot at his belt, and in his post-fight interview, he once again expressed his desire to move up to welterweight in search of a second title.

The options are no less plentiful for former middleweight champ Sean Strickland, who defeated Paulo Costa by decision in UFC 302's five-round co-main event. It was Strickland's first win since a narrow title loss to Dricus Du Plessis in January, and it put him right back into title contention, whether he's matched up with the champ or another top contender.

Former welterweight contender Kevin Holland also won big on the card, breaking Michal Oleksiejczuk's arm in the first-round of their middleweight bout. The same was true top top-10 heavyweight Jailton Almeida, who bounced back from a loss to Curtis Blaydes with a first-round rear-naked choke against Alexandr Romanov.

Keep scrolling for the fights we hope will be made for the card's big winners.

Dustin Poirier only got his crack at Makhachev because Arman Tsarukyan was unavailable.

Tsarukyan cemented himself as the No. 1 lightweight contender with a hard-fought decision win over former champion Charles Oliveira on the UFC 300 main card in April. Immediately after the fact, he was offered a fight with Makhachev at UFC 302, but rightfully turned the opportunity down, having just been through a 15-minute war with Oliveira. The opportunity was then offered to Poirier.

After his win over Poirier, Makhachev set his sights on a crack at the welterweight title, which is currently the property of England's Leon Edwards. That's a great fight, and an opportunity Makhachev probably deserves, but he still has a lot of work to do at lightweight — namely in the form of Tsarukyan.

Provided Makhachev is healthy, the UFC should pit him against Tsarukyan in the fall. If he successfully defends his title against the Georgian upstart—he's beaten him once before—then it will be hard to deny him a crack at the welterweight belt.

After losing to Makhachev at UFC 302, Dustin Poirier suggested he might retire from competition. If that's what he decides, he can ride off into the sunset with his head held high. Despite never winning an undisputed title, he seems like a surefire candidate for the UFC Hall of Fame.

If Poirier decides to keep competing, however, there is seemingly no better fight for him than a lightweight clash with former featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski, long considered one of the best fighters in the sport, is riding a brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria, which ended his long reign on the featherweight throne. Since then, he's been adamant he will only accept a rematch with Topuria, but after UFC 302, he expressed interest in a fight with the vanquished Poirier.

"He thinks he might be retiring, not sure," Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. "Maybe, just maybe, depending on what I'm doing — obviously, I want to fight later in the year, I don't know exactly what's happening, I don't want to wait too long either — so if the timing works out, maybe me and Dustin can have a good fight. I know he just wants good fights. Obviously, [we] have a lot of respect for each other, and I think that would be a massive fight.

"So that's something I'd be willing to do while I'm waiting for that featherweight title, maybe a lightweight fight against someone like Dustin Poirier would be great. You heard it here first. Maybe we could make something happen."

If Poirier sticks around, this is the fight to make. It's a perfect opportunity for him and Volkanovski to improve their already incredible resumes, and all signs point to a very exciting matchup.

After his decision win over Paulo Costa in the UFC 302 co-main event, Sean Strickland called for another crack at the promotion's middleweight title, which is still in the hands of South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis.

As a former champ, Strickland arguably deserves that opportunity, but his win over Costa was a definite snoozer, and all signs point to the next middleweight title shot going to former champion Israel Adesanya.

If Strickland is indeed passed up for a title shot, the obvious fight for him is a clash with the winner of Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev's upcoming showdown. The pair are set to meet on June 22. Whittaker, a former champ and one of the best middleweights ever, will be looking to build on the momentum of his own decision win over Costa. Chimaev, meanwhile, will be looking to keep his perfect record intact and earn himself the title shot that has seemed predestined since he joined the UFC in 2020.

Like Strickland, the winner of the Whittaker-Chimaev fight will be well deserving of a crack at Du Plessis, but will likely be passed up in favor of Adesanya. As such, it only makes sense to match that winner up with Strickland. That way, there's a clear-cut No. 1 contender waiting for the Du Plessis vs. Adesanya winner.

Kevin Holland made a successful return to the middleweight division at UFC 302, defeating former light heavyweight Michal Oleksiejczuk with a bone-breaking armbar in Round 1.

As a ranked welterweight, and one of the most popular fighters in the UFC right now, Holland will most likely get a huge opportunity in his next middleweight fight. Our pick is a showdown with Brazil's Michel Pereira.

The No. 12-ranked Pereira, like Holland, is a former welterweight with a reputation for wild brawls and highlight-reel finishes. He's riding three-straight stoppage wins since he moved up to middleweight, which includes a first-round submission of Oleksiejczuk, as well as wins over Andre Petroski and Ihor Potieria.

Pereira is definitely a few rungs ahead of Holland on the middleweight ladder, but it's hard to imagine a better fight for him than the American. It's a Fight of the Night contender on paper, and the winner would be a win or two away from title contention at worst.

Heading into 2024, Brazilian heavyweight Jailton Almeida looked like he'd be fighting for the division's title by the end of the year. The dangerous grappler had won 15 straight fights, including wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Derrick Lewis, and was commonly mentioned as a potential opponent for both Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones. Then he ran into Curtis Blaydes and suffered a second-round TKO loss that totally derailed his hype train.

On the UFC 302 undercard, Almeida got back on track with a dominant first-round submission over fellow top-15 contender Alexandr Romanov. After that win, he is once again one of the top contenders at heavyweight.

Our pick for his next fight is former interim champ Ciryl Gane. France's Gane is riding a lopsided win over Sergei Spivak, which separated him from a loss to Jones. However, he's still a win or two away for another shot at the belt.

A fight with a dangerous contender like Almeida would be just the ticket for the Frenchman. The winner would be well positioned for a shot at Aspinall's interim belt, or Jones' undisputed title, and it's a fun striker vs. grappler clash on paper.

Book it for the UFC's planned September return to Paris. It's an obvious main event.