Islam Makhachev (26-1) submitted Dustin Poirier (30-9) to retain the lightweight championship in the main event of UFC 302 from Newark, New Jersey.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1797133788947816856/video/1
Poirier landed a strike or two to open the fight, but it was Makhachev who landed a forward combination and went right for the takedown, successfully moving to side mount. The champ had Poirier in danger with a Kimora, but Poirier escaped, giving up his back midway through the round.
In the second, a leg kick from Poirier resulted in nearly a takedown in the first minute. Back on their feet, Poirier kept his distance, but Makhachev was relentless looking for an opening for a takedown. Aware of the takedown threat, Poirier ate shot after shot on his feet. Makhachev shot again midway through the round, pushing him against the cage until Poirier got his back to the center of the Octagon and pushed the champ back to trade shots. Poirier appeared to stun Makhachev slightly, but he found his footing and earned a takedown to end the round.
Makhachev opened the third with a big knee before taking Poirier down yet again. He took the challenger’s back and eventually moved to full mount. Poirier escaped out the back and moved back to his feet, looking much more aggressive on his feet by walking down the champ. With 10 seconds to go, Poirier threw big shots to end the round.
POIRIER HYPED UP 🔊 #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/3WOaQsvZWp
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 2, 2024
Poirier came out refreshed in the fourth, opening a gash on Makhachev’s forehead with an elbow in the championship rounds. He worked the jab and found openings at the body, eventually stuffing a takedown attempt. Makhachev found his own openings with a nice one-two, then set up a takedown attempt with a big left hand. Poirier posted in the corner, then slid out again with a reversal, landing huge body shots against the cage.
The fifth saw Poirier escape another takedown attempt followed by a big shot. He followed with a big left hand that didn’t faze Makhachev. The champ earned a quick takedown, but Poirier made it back to his feet. Eventually, Makhachev earned another takedown and the submission victory.
Makhachev has steamrolled through the UFC, winning the lightweight championship in 2022 by submitting Charles Oliveira and defeating Alexander Volanovski twice heading into Saturday night’s main event.
Poirier’s journey to finish his story came with another twist with his matchup against Makhachev. He held UFC gold once in his career, winning the interim lightweight belt against Max Holloway in 2019 before ultimately falling at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov in their unification bout. Poirier has chased gold since, beating Conor McGregor twice before yet again failing in his shot at gold against Charles Oliveira. With wins against Michael Chandler and Benoit Saint-Denis, Poirier came into Saturday hoping third shot would be his best.