“Islam makhachev vs dustin Poirier” | UFC 302 fight updates :
Dustin Poirier is largely regarded as one of the finest UFC fighters who has never won an undisputed championship, and Islam Makhachev confirmed that on Saturday night by submitting him in the fifth round to retain the lightweight title at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center.
Unfortunately, Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) will gladly take the roles of villain and dream crusher this evening.
Because of his home country, he’s an easy villain for fans in the United States, and he enjoys his black-hat status, especially when competing against popular UFC heroes.
He’s a worthy world champion, though, and he went above and beyond in the main event on Saturday night, overcoming hardship and bloodshed to defeat an especially tough opponent in Dustin Poirier with a D’Arce choke in the fifth round.
After making two quick defenses against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, this was his third defense of the lightweight title that he had earned from Charles Oliveira.
After losing by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019 and Charles Oliveira in 2021, the 35-year-old Poirier was vying for the title for the third time.
The American had previously held the interim title but was unable to retain the gold, making indications that he might not return to competition both before and after UFC 302.
Poirier claimed he had the better of almost four rounds against the top-ranked fighter in the pound-for-pound rankings, Makhachev, but the Russian controlled the majority of the fight and finished by D’Arce choke. After Poirier tapped out, Makhachev successfully defended the championship three times, and a little while later, Poirier also lost consciousness.
Makhachev achieved the same amount of defense as his coach and childhood friend Khabib, who dominated the lightweight division from 2018 to 2020.
Poirier fought many takedown attempts and evaded submissions for four and a half rounds before stepping off the canvas when things became serious. However, Makhachev finally regained control with a brilliant ankle pick during a scramble, allowing him to capture a D’Arce choke and force Poirier to tap out at 2:42 in the final stanza.
“He did really good,” commented a tired Makhachev. “He defended my takedowns and gave me a tough fight.”
Overtaking his coach Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, Makhachev increased his record of UFC victories to 13.
