In perhaps the most dangerous period of his reign as UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev lived up to his title as the promotion’s best pound-for-pound fighter.
The Russian defeated UFC veteran Dustin Poirier with a fifth-round submission to defend his title in a fight that seemed to go against him in the later rounds. He spent much of the fight in control on the ground, but was stuffed in several takedown events and had a gnarly gash on the forehead going into the fifth.
The whole effort seemed to get a lot easier in the first round, when Makhachev clocked Poirier, took him down and took him on his back, spending the next four minutes looking for a choke or arm triangle. Poirier fought off all those attempts and started to find his feet in the second round. Beating Makhachev on the ground has proven nearly impossible, but Poirier fought him off as much as possible and landed some big strikes to keep the fight fairly even.
With the crowd at Newark’s Prudential Center firmly behind the American underdog, an upset seemed entirely possible. Poirier won the fifth round. Makhachev quelled that threat with a D’Arce choke and was soon mobbed at his corner as Poirier lay unconscious or near the ground.
It was another great display of creativity and talent from Makhachev, who said he would like to next challenge for the UFC welterweight crown, which is currently held by Leon Edwards. Makhachev has now defended the title three times, with the other two coming against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
“It’s my dream. I want to fight for the second title. I want to feel that energy again, because when you defend your title it’s not the same anymore. I need a new one,” Makhachev said.
As for Poirier, the 35-year-old indicated he is seriously considering retirement, though he said he was not yet 100%. This was his third shot at the lightweight title, with the other two also resulting in submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was in Makhachev’s corner on Saturday, and Charles Oliveira.
“If I fight again, what am I fighting for? Just to fight? I’ve done that 50 times,” Poirier said. ‘Don’t know. I have a little girl that I love, I have to check it out. I think this could be it, honestly.”
Here’s how the entire UFC 302 card went down. It was a great night if you like decision wins, some with absolutely inscrutable decisions from the judges.
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