The champ is still in charge after UFC 302. Islam Makhachev managed to retain his lightweight title in a brutal battle with Dustin Poirier in the main event on Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey. Makhahcev extended his winning streak to 14 with a D’Arce choke in the fifth round that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Poirier put up a valiant effort in defeat. The native of Louisiana fell short in his third attempt to become champion, but put on arguably his best performance in a title fight to date. Poirier managed to keep Makhachev off of him for long stretches of the fight and fought him on even terms on the feet. Despite getting his back taken in Round 1, Poirier stayed calmed and defended well. He just couldn’t come up with a defense for the final choke as Makhachev rushed in and put him out cold.
Poirier continued to tease retirement after the fight as he had all week, noting that this may be the last time we see him in the Octagon. “The Diamond” will go down as one of the best fighters in promotional history to never earn undisputed gold.
Elsewhere on the card, Sean Strickland kept himself in title contention with a win over Paulo Costa in the co-main event. Strickland controlled the entirety of the fight and the split-decision distinction is a bit misleading. The former champion called for a title shot next after not getting an immediate rematch with Dricus du Plessis after his loss in January. Plus, Kevin Holland is back to doing Kevin Holland things as the veteran submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk with an armbar that appeared to snap his opponent’s arm.
CBS Sports was with you throughout fight week with the latest news, in-depth features and betting advice to consider. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you at UFC 303 and the return of Conor McGregor in Las Vegas.
UFC 302 fight card, odds
- Islam Makhachev (c) def. Dustin Poirier via fifth-round submission (d’arce choke)
- Sean Strickland def. Paulo Costa via split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46)
- Kevin Holland def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via first-round submission (armbar)
- Niko Price def. Alex Morono via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Randy Brown def. Elizeu Zaleski via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Roman Kopylov def. Cesar Almeida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Jailton Almeida def. Alexandr Romanov via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Grant Dawson def. Joe Solecki via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jake Matthews def. Phil Rowe via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Bassil Hafez def. Mickey Gall via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Ailin Perez def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Lima def. Mitch Raposo via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
