Saturday’s return to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey features a slate comprised largely of established names, with former middleweight champ Sean Strickland facing former title challenger Paulo Costa in the co-main event, and lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev defending his belt against ex-interim champ and perennial contender Dustin Poirier in the weekend’s headlining attraction.
But mixed in amongst tenured talent are a couple names folks need to keep tabs on, including an experienced welterweight entering off a blistering walk-off knockout and two members of the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Class of ’23 that have already had their hands raised inside the Octagon this year.