Islam Makhachev submits Dustin Poirier in round five of grueling championship fight at UFC 302
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to us tonight, June 1, 2024. for UFC 302, going down live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Headlining the event was a lightweight championship affair showcasing no. 1 pound-for-pound ranked Islam Makhachev (26-1), who attempts to make the third defense of his title tonight opposing no. 4 ranked former interim champion Dustin Poirier (30-9) in the main event of the evening.
Makhachev, following victory over former champion Charles Oliveira (arm-triangle choke) that saw him capture the throne in 2022, had since defended it twice against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (UD, KO).
Poirier on the other hand came into tonight’s main event off a win over Benoit Saint-Denis (KO) at UFC 299, snapping Saint-Denis’ five-fight finish streak inside the UFC’s lightweight division.
Continue reading to see how this lightweight encounter went down:
Official Result: Islam Makhachev def. Dustin Poirier via submission (D’Arce choke) at 2:42 of round five
Makhachev landed a good left hand followed by a right hook early on in the opening round and immediately secured a takedown in the seconds after. He wrapped up a tight kimura attempt, though Poirier battled his way out of it, Makhachev beautifully taking his back in a scramble and controlling him through the remainder of round one.
Makhachev secured another takedown early on in the second, though Poirier was right back to his feet. Poirier went on to stuff the champions next two takedowns and got to work with his striking.
Makhachev landed a good combination before securing another takedown to begin the third, absolutely mauling Poirier through half of it, holding each mount and backmount for a time. Poirier was able to scramble his way out and spent the final two minutes of the middle stretch on his feet with each man landing good strikes onto the other.
Makhachev landed a good combination in the fourth and went for another takedown, Poirier hitting the switch as a result. He then opened a cut up on Makhachev’s forehead with a well placed elbow and landed a series of nasty shovel hooks to the body in the clinch.
Poirier landed a heavy left hand in the fifth and final round, forcing a shot out of the champion. Makhachev got him down initially, having to grab Poirier’s other leg before securing a front headlock position. From here Poirier attempted to stand up, where Makhachev dragged him down with a guillotine choke.
Makhachev changed to the D’Arce and went for the finish, securing the tap midway through round five of an absolutely grueling fight.
ISLAM MAKHACHEV TAPS OUT DUSTIN POIRIER pic.twitter.com/PqBMEzeSic
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) June 2, 2024
Islam Makhachev makes the third defense of his UFC lightweight championship tonight at UFC 302, tying BJ Penn, Ben Henderson, and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the most ever in the division.
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