Light-weight champion Islam Makhachev efficiently defended his title for a 3rd time in opposition to former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier within the UFC 302 primary occasion final Saturday. The title bout earned ‘Struggle of the Evening’ honors.
Two of the judges had the battle tied after 4 rounds. Poirier was in a position to fend off most of Makhachev’s takedown makes an attempt after the opening spherical protecting the match on their ft. Whereas Makhachev persistently regarded to get the battle to the bottom, he wasn’t outmatched within the putting division.
Most identified for his grappling prowess with 12 submission wins, Makhachev is not precisely a fish out of water with regards to putting. 5 of his 26 wins have been by knockout. He stopped former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski with a head kick adopted by punches in his earlier battle heading into the UFC 302 title bout in opposition to Poirier.
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley believes Makhachev’s putting is basically underrated. “Islam is underrated putting,” O’Malley stated on his YouTube channel. “He was ripping some candy combos.”
The title loss could have been Poirier’s final octagon efficiency. Having misplaced three title fights, Poirier will go down as arguably the best UFC fighter by no means to carry win UFC gold.
UFC 302 happened on the Prudential Heart in Newark, New Jersey. The light-weight title bout between Makhachev and Poirier headlined the pay-per-view occasion. The occasion marked the battle promotion’s tenth occasion in Newark.
