Islam Makhachev submitted Dustin Poirier via D’arce choke in the fifth round to retain his lightweight championship in the main event of UFC 302 on Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey.
Makhachev forced the tap at 2 minutes, 42 seconds.
Makhachev (26-1), who closed as a -400 favorite on ESPN Bet, extended his winning streak to 14 straight fights and made the third defense of his title. His past two defenses were against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who moved up to challenge for the 155-pound belt. Makhachev beat Volkanovki in both fights by unanimous decision and first-round knockout, respectively.
Makhachev wasted no time getting to work, taking Poirier down inside the first minute of the opening round and controlling the challenger on the ground for nearly four minutes. After threatening a kimura attempt, Makhachev was able to cinch in a body lock from Poirier’s back. Poirier survived a series of submission attempts, however, and escaped the round intact.
Poirier did a good job avoiding a pair of takedown attempts by Makhachev early in Round 2, but the champion held his own on the feet, connecting with a solid right hand and a knee to the face while in the clinch. Poirier had some success with his strikes as well, catching Makhachev with a hard counter right hook, but Makhachev was able to get him to the mat inside the final minute of the round.
Makhachev caught Poirier with a pair of knees in the clinch to begin Round 3 and then scored another takedown against the cage. Makhachev attempted to flatten Poirier out and eventually got Poirier in full mount, but Poirier successfully escaped and got the fight back to the feet. Poirier absorbed plenty of damage while on the ground, however, and had visible swelling below his right eye.
Makhachev scored on a pair of right hands midway through the fourth round, and then tagged Poirier with a left before pinning him against the cage. Poirier fought hard to avoid the takedown but went down to the mat for the fourth time with about two minutes left in the round. Poirier again got the fight back to the feet and cut the champion with a sharp elbow across the forehead before landing a three-punch combination to the champion’s body.
Poirier stuffed a takedown midway through the final round, but Makhachev slid in a guillotine attempt before switching to a d’arce choke. Poirier eventually tapped to give the champion the victory.
Poirier (30-9, 1 NC), a former interim lightweight champion, made his third attempt at the 155-pound title. In his previous fight, he beat Benoît Saint Denis by second-round knockout at UFC 299 to earn this title shot.
