Fighters to watch at UFC 302: Who needs a breakthrough performance?

The foundational blocks of the UFC 302 fight card are about as solid as fight fans could hope for.

The event is capped off by a compelling main event title fight involving the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the roster facing a capable been-there-done-that veteran, plus a special five-round co-main event between two of the more enigmatic personalities in the sport, one of whom is a popular recent champion.

That's not all the card has to offer, though. Before Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa make their walks to the cage, a handful of fighters competing at UFC 302 have a chance to deliver a needed breakthrough performance.

Below are a handful of fighters to keep an eye on this weekend. A few are facing pressure to get back in the win column, while one is hoping to stay unbeaten and follow the same path as one of the current UFC titleholders.

ELIZEU ZALESKI DOS SANTOS

By all accounts, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos should be a bigger star in the UFC. He has been on the roster for nine years and boasts an Octagon record of 10-3-1, never losing two in a row with two of those three defeats coming via split decision. He also holds a win over Benoit Saint Denis, the fighter Dustin Poirier beat to earn his title shot, and has a highlight spinning wheel kick knockout of Sean Strickland.

Despite all his success at the UFC level, he is currently unranked at 170 pounds and any positive momentum he managed to generate in recent years has been consistently interrupted. The Brazilian had a seven-fight winning streak halted in 2019 when he was knocked out by Li Jingliang with nine seconds remaining in their contest. He alternated wins and losses after that KO loss before being suspended in 2022 after testing positive for a banned substance. He returned in 2023 with two admirable outings, taking a decision over Abubakar Nurmagomedov before his majority draw versus the touted Rinat Fakhretdinov, which snapped Fakhretdinov’s 20-fight unbeaten streak that dated back to 2013.

Zaleski dos Santos has plenty of flash and is kicking off the pay-per-view main card in a fun style clash with Randy Brown who’s coming off a February KO win that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.

CÉSAR ALMEIDA

The featured preliminary bout at UFC 302 has the potential for fireworks when two fighters known for their dynamic striking meet. Roman Kopylov will aim to hand César Almeida his first loss in mixed martial arts. Almeida earned a technical knockout victory in his UFC debut in April and did so while defending a takedown, using lateral elbow strikes and hammer fists to get the job done and improve to 5-0 in pro MMA. Almeida is attempting to follow in Alex Pereira’s footsteps and quickly ascend the middleweight rankings after coming over from the kickboxing world in which he held a 47-8-1 professional record.

Almeida went the distance with Pereira three times in kickboxing, winning once and losing twice to the current 205-pound and former 185-pound UFC champ. Kopylov has only lost at the UFC level when facing an opponent whose primary strength is grappling. Kopylov had a four-fight KO streak snapped in February by Anthony Hernandez but unlike in that matchup, the Russian should hold a grappling advantage over Almeida.

BASSIL HAFEZ

Bassil Hafez lost his UFC debut last year but showed his potential in the performance by taking rising welterweight contender Jack Della Maddalena to a split decision on short notice. UFC brass has presented Hafez with a favourable opportunity to get his first win this weekend over a name like Mickey Gall, who earned notoriety for himself in 2016 by beating CM Punk and Sage Northcutt and who’ll be fighting in his home state of New Jersey.

All but one of Gall’s pro MMA bouts have taken place under the UFC banner, although he only has one victory since 2019 and hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Mike Malott more than two years ago at UFC 273. Hafez showed impressive durability against Della Maddalena and had the benefit of a full training camp ahead of his second UFC appearance.

This isn’t the first time Hafez and Gall have competed against each other. Hafez got the better of Gall during a 2013 grappling tournament.

GRANT DAWSON

Grant Dawson hadn’t lost in nine previous UFC appearances and was on the verge of becoming a regular fixture in the lightweight rankings before Bobby Green turned out his lights in a 33-second upset back in October. Dawson has a strong wrestling base and he’ll look to get back in the win column against a slick jiu-jitsu artist in Joe Solecki who’s also coming off a first-round knockout loss; he was slammed unconscious by Drakkar Klose in December while attempting an armbar.

If Dawson, 30, can perform like he did when he swept the scorecards against Damir Ismagulov 11 months ago it could be an indication his lone UFC loss served as a valuable wakeup call and a mistake from which he learned and improved.