Islam Makhachev's victory over Dustin Poirier in UFC 302 showcased the dominant skills of the reigning lightweight champion. Makhachev's fifth-round submission of Poirier solidified his status as one of the top fighters in the division, demonstrating his technical prowess and strategic acumen.
Throughout the fight, Makhachev displayed a masterful command of both striking and grappling techniques, utilizing his superior wrestling abilities to control the pace and dictate the terms of engagement. His ability to seamlessly transition between striking and grappling exchanges kept Poirier off balance and unable to mount any significant offense.
The Russian defeated UFC veteran Dustin Poirier with a fifth-round submission to defend his belt in a fight that seemed to be trending against him in the later rounds. He spent much of the fight in control on the ground, but was stuffed on several takedown events and was sporting a gnarly forehead cut going into the fifth.
The whole effort looked like it would be a lot easier in the first round, when Makhachev clocked Poirier, took him down and took his back, spending the next four minutes looking for a choke or arm triangle. Poirier fought all of those attempts off and started to find his footing in the second round. It has proven to be borderline impossible to beat Makhachev on the ground, but Poirier fought him off as much as he needed to and landed some big strikes to keep the fight fairly even.
None of the takedowns were more important than the ankle pick that he used to drop Poirier before cinching in a tight D'arce choke that forced the "Diamond" to tap.
After the loss, which marked his third failed attempt to capture the lightweight world championship, the 35-year-old Poirier (30-9, 1 No Contest) openly contemplated retirement.
"I'm not 100 percent but if this is my last fight, I want to dedicate this journey to the people who have made me the man I am," Poirier told Rogan before mentioning his grandmother, mother, wife and daughter.As for Poirier, the 35-year-old indicated he was seriously considering retirement, though he said he wasn't 100% yet. This was his third shot at the lightweight belt, with the other two also resulting in submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was in Makhachev's corner Saturday, and Charles Oliveira.
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