UFC 300 was one of the few events I can recollect where it lived up to its immense hype. Almost every fight met or exceeded what people expected and moments like the final seconds of Holloway Vs Gaethje will be remembered in MMA forever.

To follow this card was always going to be tough. I believe a lot of people went into UFC 301 with the mentality that it simply cannot be as good as 300 and therefore were very happily surprised by the great event we witnessed. The Pereira craziness, the dominant Anthony Smith performance, Aldo looking like he was in his prime and an incredible main event.

And here we are now at 302. I’m very interested to see how Jailton Almeida does against Alexander Romanov. Almeidas last fight against Curtis Blaydes was really the last big fight before being in title contention, at the very least interim contention given the latest UFC 304 fight announcement. Unfortunately, Jailton looked quite lacklustre in my honest opinion. He clearly came out with a game plan in round 1 and those five minutes showed that that plan wasn’t going to work. I anxiously waited to see how he would adapt but what we saw in round 2 was a mirror of the first and Blaydes despatched him late in the second. I don’t know if this was his decision or corner advice but he picked up the loss either way. I think the reason the originally scheduled Volkov Vs Almeida fight was scrapped is still not public but Romanov is now in the picture and it will be interesting to see these two pair up. Both fighters seem to favour submissions which is unusual for heavyweights. It will be interesting to see if either fighter relies on his strength or decides to keep it standing to avoid his opponents favoured game plan. I worry this fight may be a 15 minute grapple fest but both have knockout power if needs. I’m going Almeida for the win but by decision.

I’m almost as excited for the co-main event as I am the final fight. Costa Vs Strickland will be a great fight. 2 fighters who know how to put on a show and known for standing and throwing. Despite his loss to Whittaker, it was one of the best I had seen Costa and I believe he lost more so due to Whittaker being on incredible form more than anything else. This could be a show stealer. I’m going Costa for the win. He needs a big win and I think he will be looking to entertain.

I won’t talk too much about the main event as I am posting a Dustin specific article separately. I do think Islam takes this on the ground. I read that Islam’s coach believes that he beats Dustin, not only on the ground but standing as well. This is a theory I believe 99% of fans would like to see tested. Unfortunately I don’t believe this will be the case and Islam will stick to his game plan of take Dustin down, avoid the guillotine, and get the finish. I hope that I am wrong and Dustin gets the win, this is nothing against Islam at all, I think he is a great fighter but for someone who has gave so much to the sport, it would be nice for Dustin to get the win.

I am hoping that a few of the other fights on the card will be surprise hits. Holland Vs Oleksiejczuk could be a real slugfest. Both fighters coming off defeats, I think they will both want to stand and bang and jump right back into the contender scene.

I cannot wait for this card, despite its top heavy fight list. The main event could be huge for the lightweight scene. Comment down below about your predictions or possibly fight of the night contenders.