UFC 302 only delivered three finishes over a 12-fight card, but that didn’t stop several athletes from getting banged up this past Saturday night in Newark, N.J.
On Tuesday, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board released the event’s medical suspensions, and both the main event and co-main event produced potentially long layoffs.
At the top of the card, Dustin Poirier put up a valiant effort but ultimately came up short against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, losing via fifth-round submission. Post-fight, Poirier confessed that his nose got smashed during the bout and he also suffered some sort of leg injury during a third-round takedown attempt against the cage.
As a result, Poirier has been issued an indefinite suspension from the commission pending clearance by an ear, nose, and throat doctor for his nose injury. He also requires orthopedist clearance for the left knee injury he suffered in the fight.
As of now, Poirier is still pondering a potential retirement from the sport, so his eventual clearance by physicians may not matter if he decides not to return to the UFC.
In the co-main event, Sean Strickland earned a win over Paulo Costa but now faces an indefinite suspension pending an x-ray of his left tibia as well as clearance by an orthopedist for the injury to his left tibia/leg. Based on the language of the suspension, Strickland may have suffered some sort of fracture in his leg, although the commission wants him to get that examined to verify the potential nature of the injury
As for Costa, he put on a listless performance en route to losing a split decision during the five-round fight. Now Costa also faces an indefinite suspension until he’s cleared by an orthopedist for a right ankle/foot injury suffered in the fight.
He also must sit out for a mandatory 30 days along with 14 days of no contact even if his foot/ankle ends up being cleared sooner.
Likewise, Michael Oleksiejczuk also faces an indefinite suspension after his arm was snapped from a first-round submission applied by Kevin Holland. The extent of the damage is still unknown, but Oleksiejczuk must gain clearance from an orthopedist for his right arm/elbow before he’s allowed to compete again.
Here is the full list of UFC 302 medical suspensions:
- Islam Makhachev: 30 day suspension/no contact due to facial lacerations
- Dustin Poirier: Indefinite suspension pending ENT clearance for nose, orthopedist clearance for left knee
- Sean Strickland: 30 day suspension/no contact. Indefinite suspension pending x-ray on left tibia, orthopedist clearance on left tibia/leg
- Paulo Costa: 30 day suspension, 14 days no contact. Indefinite suspension pending orthopedist clearance of right ankle/foot
- Michal Oleksiejczuk: Indefinite suspension pending orthopedist clearance for right elbow/arm
- Randy Brown: Indefinite suspension pending x-ray right big toe, pending orthopedist clearance of right big toe
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos: Indefinite suspension pending ophthalmologist exam clearance
- Jailton Almeida: Indefinite suspension pending MRI left knee, pending orthopedist clearance for left knee
- Grant Dawson: 30 day suspension, no contact for left eyebrow laceration
- Bassil Hafez: 30 day suspension, no contact
- Mickey Gall: 14 day suspension mandatory, indefinite suspension pending nephrology clearance
- Ailin Perez: 30 day suspension, no contact. Indefinite suspension pending oral surgeon clearance of jaw
- Jocelyne Edwards: 30 day suspension, no contact. Indefinite suspension pending x-ray right thumb