Islam Makhachev defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.
UFC returned to Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, June 1st with the world’s No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter facing off against a future UFC Hall of Fame fighter in the main event. Islam Makhachev defended his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in the official main event of UFC 302.
The question coming into last weekend’s fight was whether Poirier would be able to finish his own story. In his illustrious career, he’s basically done it all: fought for a world title, won two big-money bouts with Conor McGregor in 2021, won the interim lightweight title in 2019. What’s always eluded him was the undisputed gold medal he’s been after. Last weekend, Poirier faced his third undisputed title fight in what appeared to be his final chance at the title.
His first chance came in 2019, when he fought then-UFC Hall of Famer and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, losing by submission in the third round. His next title fight was in 2021 against Charles Olivera, who again tapped out in the third round. Again, on Saturday night, he was up against Makhachev, who trains with Nurmagomedov and is his protégé. But he was riding the momentum of his win against Benio Saint-Denis, and UFC fans were excited to see Poirier try to end the story.
Islam Makhachev defeats Dustin Poirier by submission (Round 5, 2:42)
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the fairytale ending that Poirier and most UFC fans were hoping for, but an argument can be made that Poirier gave Makhachev his toughest fight since winning the title. Makhachev dominated the bout early, landing clean combinations and using his striking to deploy his signature Dagestani wrestling style. Once on the ground, Makhachev secured over four minutes of ground control time in the first round and threatened Poirier with submission attempts.
In the second round, Poirier had a bit more success with his jab and improved his takedown defense and awareness, but the round was awarded to the champion as two of the three judges scored it in Makhachev’s favor.
In the third round, Makhachev regained his wrestling and top pressure, gaining another two and a half minutes of ground control time, and was also nearly even with Poirier in striking. Up until that point, Poirier looked certain to win, but he was slightly behind throughout the bout.
The fourth round was Poirier’s most successful one. He found his rhythm by mixing elbows and using his jab, slicing through Makhachev with a lead elbow and nearly winning the round.
Going into the fifth round, Makhachev’s game plan seemed to be mostly working, but it felt like the fight could have been won by anyone, especially since the scorecards looked odd in the previous rounds. In the fifth round, Makhachev caught Poirier off guard with an ankle pick and used a takedown to submit with a D’Arce choke. Even in a loss to Poirier, Makhachev showed he has heart and grit. It shows why he’s a big deal in the sport. With a possible retirement looming after this fight, fans showered Poirier with love as this could be his final time in the Octagon.
The scary thing is that Makhachev is just getting started. After this win, he said he would like to move up a weight class and try for a second title at 170 pounds. He would definitely have an advantage over welterweight champion Leon Edwards. This is a Muslim world and we just live in it.
Other notable results from UFC 302
Co-main event – No. 1 ranked Sean Strickland defeats No. 7 ranked Paulo Costa by unanimous decision (middleweight bout) and could face the winner of (C) Drix du Plessis vs. No. 2 ranked Israel Adesanya.
Kevin Holland is coming off a win over Michal Oleksiejczuk via submission (armbar) in a middleweight bout. Holland has options at either 170 or 185 pounds, as there are plenty of entertaining fights waiting for him.
Randy Brown defeated Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos by unanimous decision (welterweight bout) to extend his winning streak to three bouts and improve to 7-1 in his past eight fights.
The next UFC pay-per-view (UFC 303) will take place on June 29th, when Conor McGregor will return after a three-year hiatus to face Michael Chandler in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Preston Palm is a senior majoring in communications at Oklahoma University of Science and Arts.
