UFC 302 just wrapped up in Newark, New Jersey after an absolute war between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and the No. 4 ranked contender Dustin Poirier.
Poirier, widely considered one of the best efter to never win an undisputed title, got his third crack at glory and definitely had his moments throughout the fight. He displayed solid takedown defense, utilized his boxing and actually opened up a big cut on the champion’s forehead.
However, Makhachev mixed up his attacks tremendously and had Poirier constantly worried about defending his takedown attempts while also landing solid strikes in the standup exchanges.
Islam Makhachev submits Dustin Poirier in round five at UFC 302
In the championship rounds, things were really heating up as the championship bout slowly but surely turned into a straight up dog fight. Poirier had Makhachev on the backpedal late in the forth, and continued pouring it on in the fifth before getting taken down in a vital moment that would lead to the finish.
Makhachev used his high-level wrestling attacks and grappling offense to secure a d’arce choke, winning by fifth-round submission at the 2:42 mark.
Before the finish, Makhachev has up 3-1 on two scorecards while one judge had it even going into the fifth round.
With the win, Makhachev m0ves to 26-1 as a pro with 14 UFC wins in a row including three title defenses. Poirier falls to 30-9 with one no contest and as he puts it himself, this might be it for “The Diamond”.
Funky scorecard makes Strickland-Costa a split decision
Before the main event, former middleweight champ and current Sean Strickland took on No. 7 ranked Paulo Costa in a five-round co-headliner.
Strickland marched forward the entire fight, not landing a lot but definitely out-landing Costa, who moved backwards the whole time. However, despite most people scoring the bout 50-45 to Strickland, or at the very least 49-46, judge Dave Tirelli somehow had it 49-46 to Costa.
The outrageous scorecard made it a split decision, with Strickland backed 49-46 and 50-45 by judges Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee.
Many raised their eyebrows earlier on as Tirelli scored the first fight of the night 28-29 to Mitch Raposo, despite the other two judges in that bout having it 30-27 the other way with Andre Lima winning by split decision.
UFC 302: Official results from the Newark PPV card
Check out the full results down below!
- Islam Makhachev def. Dustin Poirier via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 5, 2:42
- Sean Strickland def. Paulo Costa via split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46)
- Kevin Holland def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via technical submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:34
- Niko Price def. Alex Morono via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Randy Brown def. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos 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 submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:27
- 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)
UFC 302 bonuses: Islam Makhachev takes home 100K
At the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Islam Makhachev and Kevin Holland were awarded with 50 000 dollar “Performance of the Night” bonuses.
Makhachev’s title defense against Poirier was also deemed “Fight of the Night”, with Poirier taking home a 50K bonus while Makhachev walks away with a total of 100 000 dollars in bonus money.
Check out the UFC 302 post-fight press conference down below!
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