3 biggest storylines ahead of UFC 302

UFC 302 - and perhaps Dustin Poirier's final chance to finish his story - is upon us.

In Saturday's main event, Poirier will challenge for the undisputed lightweight title for the third time in less than five years - against Islam Makhachev, the UFC pound-for-pound king and owner of the promotion's longest active winning streak. In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland will look to get back on track against Paulo Costa after losing the title to Dricus Du Plessis in January.

Here are three key storylines ahead of the UFC's return to Prudential Center in Newark.

Will Poirier rise to the occasion and finally secure gold?

It's impossible to overstate how much is on the line for Poirier in his fight against Makhachev.

Poirier has put together a Hall of Fame-caliber resume in 13 years with the UFC, capturing the interim lightweight title in 2019 and beating many former champions, including Max Holloway (twice), Conor McGregor (twice), Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, and Michael Chandler. The one thing that's eluded Poirier all these years - and the only thing he's still fighting for - is the undisputed 155-pound belt, the right to call himself the consensus best lightweight in the world (even though many considered him the uncrowned king after Khabib Nurmagomedov retired in 2020).

Poirier just happened to peak as a fighter when the lightweight division was ruled over by historically dominant forces - Nurmagomedov and now Makhachev - and a fighter who's a nightmare matchup for him in Charles Oliveira. By and large, Poirier has the level of skill and ability of any ordinary UFC champion but hasn't gotten over the hump thanks, in part, to bad luck and timing.

Poirier did luck out a bit by getting this third shot at the undisputed lightweight title. Almost exactly 10 months ago, he suffered a devastating knockout loss in a rematch with Justin Gaethje in a BMF title bout. A loss like that might've signaled the beginning of the end for a fighter in his mid-30s, with a lot of tread on the tires, and in the deepest division in all of MMA. Instead, Poirier came up big in his next fight. He knocked out up-and-comer Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 in March, and with the UFC booking some key lightweight contenders for UFC 300 in April, Poirier got a chance to slide into a title fight with Makhachev despite not necessarily being the most deserving.

If Poirier fails in his third - and presumably final - crack at UFC gold, he'll still probably be a top-10 lightweight when he walks away from the Octagon. But if Poirier wins, he'd be a top-three lightweight at worst, behind Nurmagomedov and BJ Penn.

The difference between being in the mix and being one of the GOATs is clearly a huge leap. So, yeah, there's a ton on the line for Lafayette's finest.

Will Strickland or Costa stay relevant at 185 pounds?

Strickland and Costa are both badly in need of a win in the UFC 302 co-main event.

Strickland is coming off a January loss to Du Plessis at UFC 297 in which he dropped the middleweight title. Costa, meanwhile, suffered a unanimous decision defeat to former champ Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in February.

These weren't terrible losses by any means - Strickland was one scorecard away from keeping the belt, and Costa rocked Whittaker in the first round to nearly pull off the upset. But a loss is a loss, and neither man can afford to take another one if they want to remain relevant.

Du Plessis is expected to defend the title against Israel Adesanya next, and the winner of the UFC Saudi Arabia main event between Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev in June could be next in line. The winner of Strickland-Costa may already need to put in more work to earn a shot at the title, so the loser will have a long road ahead of them to even sniff another opportunity.

Almeida looking to resume his pursuit of the heavyweight crown

Jailton Almeida looked the part of a rising heavyweight contender when he started his UFC career with six straight wins. He dominated everyone he faced, earning five finishes and four in the first round.

The Brazilian grappler's title hopes took a major hit when he ran into Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 in March, suffering a second-round knockout loss to fall to 6-1 in the promotion. That fight showed Almeida is still one-dimensional and needs to round out his game at least a bit more - particularly on the feet - before he's championship material.

That said, in a shallow heavyweight division, it doesn't take much to get back in the mix. Ranked No. 7, Almeida gets a step-down in competition against the No. 13-ranked Alexandr Romanov on Saturday. Romanov has enough skills on the ground that he'll make Almeida work for the victory, but he isn't unbeatable.

A win over Romanov won't suddenly catapult Almeida to the top of the division or necessarily even prove that the 32-year-old has patched up the holes that have held him back. But this fight does give Almeida the chance to move on from the Blaydes loss and get back on the right path.