The bout between Randy Brown and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos has been made official, among other matchups, for UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier. The MMA event takes place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, June 1. The contest is scheduled for three rounds at welterweight.
Randy Brown (18-5) is fresh off the win by knockout in the first round against Muslim Salikhov in February. Last June, the 33-year-old native of Springfield, Massachusetts defeated Wellington Turman by unanimous decision.
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (24-7-1) fought Rinat Fakhretdinov to a majority draw last time out in November 2023. Last June, Brazil’s 37-year-old made his October return, taking the win by split decision against Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and secured his second straight victory.
Also confirmed for the event, a middleweight bout between Cesar Almeida (5-0) of Brazil and Roman Kopylov (12-3). Su Mudaerji (16-6) of China takes on Houston’s lightweight Joshua Van (10-1). Korea’s Hyun Sung Park (9-0) faces Brazilian flyweight Andre Lima (8-0). Brazilian heavyweight Jailton Almeida (20-3) meets Alexander Romanov (17-2) of Moldova.
Plus, Roman Dolidze (12-3) of Georgia and Anthony Hernandez (12-2, 1 NC) of Dunnigan, CA clash at middleweight. Mickey Gall (7-5) of Green Brook, NJ goes up against Denver’s Bassil Hafez (8-4-1) at welterweight. Philip Rowe (10-4) of Orlando, Florida fights Australian welterweight Jake Matthews (19-7). Joe Solecki (13-4) of Wilmington, N.C. duels Grant Dawson (20-2-1) of Coconut Creek, FL at lightweight. Rounding out the card, Ailin Perez (9-2) of Argentina and Joselyne Edwards (13-5) go toe-to-toe at bantamweight.
Among the changes, Niko Price (15-7) of Cape Coral, Florida no longer faces Jeremiah Wells (12-4) of West Hazleton, Pennsylvania. The latter was replaced by Houston’s Alex Morono (24-9). The pair goes head to head at welterweight.
In the UFC 302 main event, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (25-1) defends his title against Dustin Poirier (30-8, 1 NC) of Lafayette, Louisiana. The co-main event pits former middleweight champion Sean Strickland (28-6) of Anaheim, California against Paulo Costa (14-3) of Brazil.
The promotion made the announcement via press release today. The current UFC 302 lineup can be found below. The fight order is expected to be finalized shortly.
- Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier, lightweight – Makhachev’s UFC lightweight title
- Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa, middleweight
- Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, welterweight
- Roman Kopylov vs. Cesar Almeida, middleweight
- Su Mudaerji vs. Joshua Van, flyweight
- Hyun Sung Park vs. Andre Lima, flyweight
- Niko Price vs. Alex Morono, welterweight
- Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Romanov, heavyweight
- Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez, middleweight
- Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez, welterweight
- Philip Rowe vs. Jake Matthews, welterweight
- Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki, lightweight
- Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez, women’s bantamweight