That had Makhachev contemplating jumping up to 185 pounds, which middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis cautioned him about ...

See the updated UFC 302 lineup below (bout order still to be finalized): Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa ...

Makhachev vs ... title from Strickland via split decision at UFC 297. Strickland always argued for the rematch but the path cleared after he and du Plessis beat Paulo Costa and Adesanya, respectively.

Now to the UFC 311 “Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan” preview ... that backdrop made Makhachev’s next title defense against Dustin Poirier seem like an afterthought. The clear top choice for the ...