UFC 302 results, takeaways: Poirier shows what makes MMA special; Makhachev deserves welterweight title shot

In what will likely be the final waltz of Dustin Poirier’s legendary MMA career, the beloved action hero fought valiantly despite falling short of his third shot at the undisputed lightweight title.

It was Islam Makhachev’s night on Saturday, as the lightweight champion tied the most title defenses in 155-pound history (three) by holding off a Poirier rally for a fifth-round finish, putting him to sleep with a D’Arce choke. The fight served as the main event of UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.

Let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from the UFC’s return to the Prudential Center.

1. Poirier remains the heart and soul of the UFC

He is neither the biggest star in the company’s history nor the most talented. But Poirier’s courage, commitment and resilience remain unmatched. At 35 years old, Poirier faced the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game today and almost had enough guile and stubbornness to pull off what would have been one of the most exciting title wins in UFC history. Even though he fell short, as he did twice before when he was submitted in title fights, Poirier’s performance on Saturday ended up being an amalgamation of everything that makes him so special. Unlike Michael Bisping, who probably needed a late-career run to the middleweight title to ensure MMA immortality, the blood-and-guts warrior with a humble heart and a blue-collar work ethic named Poirier already is an option for the UFC Hall of Fame once he is eligible. He proved why once again by surviving a near-disastrous start against Makhachev to slowly quell his takedown threat and deliver powerful strikes over time to bloody the dominant champion and push him deeper than any fighter arguably did during the Makhachev’s incredible 14-match winning streak.

The fact that Makhachev’s team reached beyond the Octagon fence to attack Makhachev after he put Poirier to sleep shows how much of a threat Poirier still was to cause the upset at the time of the fifth-round stoppage. had still entered the final round. Poirier was non-committal about retirement after the fight, but expressed his lack of motivation to pursue more challenges instead of returning home to be with his young family. A true man inside the cage, Poirier can proudly walk away knowing his story is complete after one of the most honest and respected runs of any fighter to ever step foot inside the UFC cage.

2. Makhachev deserves a shot at the second division title

Makhachev used his post-fight interview to officially make his plea to UFC bosses that a welterweight title shot was in his near future. Considering his absolute dominance over his last 14 fights, including submissions of former champions like Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski, it would be difficult for the promotion to deny him the opportunity (especially after Makhachev twice gave Volkanovski a similar opportunity). Current 170-pound champion Leon Edwards will defend his title against Belal Muhammad in July, while rising contender Shavkat Rahmanov continues to chase the overall title picture. But there’s no reason why Makhachev shouldn’t be considered an instant threat to part ways with coach and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, seeking a shot at the champion. Makhachev is physically large for the lightweight division and fighting closer to his natural weight should allow him even more stamina to fuel his powerful wrestling attack. Makhachev is such a complete threat and a clinical striker with great head movement that it would be fun to see how well he could overcome the 15-pound difference between the divisions. At 32, still in his physical prime, now is the time to let Makhachev discover just how great he can really be.

3. It wasn’t always pretty, but Sean Strickland held serve in the middleweight title fight

Just over four months after a contentious title loss to Dricus du Plessis, former 185-pound champion Strickland likely punched his ticket back into title contention by accepting the UFC’s desire to face a lower-ranked opponent – while He dealt with it with relative ease. – against Paulo Costa in Saturday’s co-main event. Strickland was the much more technical attacker, as he routinely used volume to support Costa while muting his potent offensive attack. The only problem came with Strickland’s inability to step on the gas further and go for the submission, which trainer Eric Nicksick continued to preach in his corner between rounds, which may have helped in the surprising split decision result. The reality is that none of the three judges should have had any interest in scoring this five-round fight for Costa, let alone via a score of 49-46 as judge Chris Lee did, likely due to Costa’s focus on heavy kicks on the legs. But Strickland proved that, at 33 years old, he is still among the elite forwards in this game due to his head movement and smart pressing. By sending Costa to his fourth defeat in his last five, he also made him look basic and limited, despite his reputation as a knockout artist (he hasn’t managed to record one since 2018).