UFC 302: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier adds short-notice debutant Mitch Raposo
Andre Lima has another new opponent for UFC 302.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Lima nows face Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter alum Mitch Raposo in a flyweight bout at the June 1 pay-per-view event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. MMA Junkie first reported the news.
Raposo steps in for Nyamjargal Tumendemberel, who is out of the fight for undisclosed reasons. Raposo was expected to compete for the second time on the upcoming season of the Contender Series before getting the call. The 25-year-old competed on season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2021 as a bantamweight and was defeated by Liudvik Sholinian. He was submitted by Jake Hadley on the Contender Series later that year. The highly touted New England prospect went on to finish his next four opponents, winning regional titles for both CES MMA and Cage Titans.
Lima gets his third different opponent for the event, which includes originally scheduled opponent Hyun Sung Park, who withdrew with a knee injury. The fellow Contender Series vet had quite the UFC debut where he was victorious via disqualification after he was bit by Igor Severino at UFC Vegas 89 in March.
UFC 302 is headlined by a lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and former interim champ Dustin Poirier.