The Russian defeated veteran Dustin Poirier by fifth-round submission to defend his UFC lightweight belt in the United States.
Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight belt by tapping out Dustin Poirier in the fifth round in the main event of UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.
Going into the fifth round on Saturday night, the Russian was sporting a large cut on his forehead, the result of multiple takedowns by the 35-year-old Poirier in the third and fourth rounds.
But it was Makhachev (26-1-0) who turned the tide against Poirier, submitting him at 2 minutes, 42 seconds into the final round to extend his 14-fight UFC win streak that began with a win over Chris Wade on September 17, 2016.
Meanwhile, Poirier (30-9-0) has won and lost his last six fights, and after the bout, the American suggested he might retire from UFC.
Saturday marked Makhachev’s third title defense.
In other bouts, Shawn Strickland (29-6-0) defeated Paulo Costa (14-4-0) by split decision 46-49, 50-45, 49-46 in a middleweight bout. Kevin Holland (26-11-0) also won a middleweight bout, submitting Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-8-0) just 1 minute, 34 seconds into the first round.
Welterweights Niko Price (16-7-0) and Randy Brown (19-5-0) also each won their bouts. Price and Brown both won by unanimous decision.
