Three New Bouts Announced for UFC 302 in New Jersey

UFC 302 is official for Newark, New Jersey, and the June 1 card has a few new matchups, as well.

The promotion announced the following bouts during the UFC on ESPN 54 broadcast on Saturday night: Ailin Perez vs. Joselyne Edwards at bantamweight; Phil Rowe vs. Jake Matthews at Jake Matthews at welterweight and Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez at welterweight.

UFC 302 takes place at the Prudential Center and will also see Roman Dolidze face Anthony Hernandez at middleweight, while Grant Dawson will take on Joe Solecki at lightweight.

Perez has won two straight in the Octagon, including a unanimous verdict over Lucie Pudilova in her last outing at UFC Fight Night 232. Edwards, meanwhile, had a three-fight winning streak snapped in her last appearance when she fell to Nora Cornolle via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 226.

Rowe is coming off a split-decision defeat to Neil Magny at UFC on ABC 5, a loss that snapped a three-bout winning streak for “The Fresh Prince.” Matthews is coming off a 1-1 campaign in 2023, when he scored a submission win over Darrius Flowers before dropping a decision against Michael Morales.

Gall will be returning to action for the first time since April 2022, when he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Mike Malott at UFC 273. Hafez made his Octagon debut on short notice, losing a split decision to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC on ESPN 49.