Islam Makhachev retained his light-weight title in a five-round thriller versus Dustin Poirier in the principle occasion of UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey. Makhachev locked in a D’Arce choke late within the fifth spherical to drive Poirier to faucet.
Within the co-main occasion, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland is formally again on the title observe as he defeated Paulo Costa by cut up choice in a five-round contest.
In the course of the UFC 302 postfight information convention, Makhachev and Poirier earned Struggle of the Night time bonuses. Moreover, Makhachev and Kevin Holland took house Efficiency of the Night time bonuses.
Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale and Dre Waters broke down all the motion in Newark, together with huge wins from Holland, Niko Value and Randy Brown.
UFC 302 combat card
Holland submits Oleksiejczuk with brutal armbar in first-round
Kevin Holland locks in a devastating armbar on Michal Oleksiejczuk and forces the early submission to safe a primary spherical victory.
(c) = defending champion
Interview: Dustin Poirier on UFC 302, legacy and extra
‘Future would not make errors’: Dustin Poirier is on the cusp of ending his UFC story
“I feel I am knocking on the door,” Poirier advised ESPN about his ongoing aspiration to be the light-weight champion. “If I win this undisputed belt on June 1, you’ll be able to stack my résumé towards some other 155-pound fighter on the earth. I feel I am near being the best.”
That résumé consists of virtually every little thing Poirier got down to accomplish almost 20 years in the past. Poirier is the one particular person to beat Conor McGregor twice and has had a profession affected by fights towards former world champions and fighters who’ve routinely hovered close to the highest of the subjective pound-for-pound listing: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Anthony Pettis and others. Some are nonetheless combating whereas others are lengthy gone. However Poirier continues to be standing, nonetheless combating and nonetheless one of the crucial beloved figures in all of MMA.
“I’ve checked each single field besides the one that claims, ‘undisputed champion,'” Poirier stated. “That is a field I would like checked. All the opposite containers bought checked on the best way to this aim. It is a byproduct of me making an attempt to be the very best on the earth. I am nonetheless chasing that.”
Capturing the title that has eluded him on his third attempt — inside an enviornment that resides on Lafayette Avenue along with his spouse and 7-year-old daughter close by — could be a storybook ending for arguably the best blended martial artist to by no means win a UFC championship.
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UFC 302 storylines: Makhachev’s subsequent huge take a look at and new glove debut
Holland submits Oleksiejczuk with brutal armbar in first-round
Kevin Holland locks in a devastating armbar on Michal Oleksiejczuk and forces the early submission to safe a primary spherical victory.
Just a little over a month in the past, followers witnessed one of the crucial dynamic combat playing cards within the historical past of blended martial arts. That festive night time was a tough act to observe, so it is truthful to say the game has been experiencing a little bit of a UFC 300 hangover.
However this weekend brings a mild antidote.
UFC 302, which matches down Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, is nowhere close to as stacked from high to backside as April’s milestone occasion, however the headline attraction is pretty much as good because it will get. The pound-for-pound king, Islam Makhachev, will defend his light-weight championship towards a longtime luminary of the load class, Dustin Poirier. It is a combat that wants no added promoting factors however nonetheless has one: Poirier, at age 35, will doubtless be making his remaining bid for gold.
Whereas UFC 302 would not boast wall-to-wall star energy, there’s intrigue up and down the combat lineup. Listed below are some storylines that we’ll get to see play out.
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UFC title matchup projections: Betting consultants break down Makhachev-Poirier and extra
At UFC 302, Poirier would be the largest underdog on the cardboard, and the numbers agree he has an uphill battle. Whereas Poirier wields sturdy and technical offensive hanging, Makhachev counters with wonderful protection and is able to exact energy hanging of his personal, albeit at a a lot decrease tempo. Poirier averages 3 times the hanging tempo of Makhachev. Sadly for Poirier, he additionally eats a good variety of photographs in return. So he’ll doubtless be the busier striker, however he is nonetheless weak on counters.
And that is solely when the combat is standing, as Makhachev will certainly try loads of takedowns. Poirier’s takedown protection charges are solely common, and he is a bit too keen to combat off his again. Poirier wants a end. In any other case, he’ll most likely be spending lengthy durations dropping factors on the mat. –Reed Kuhn
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