Islam Makhachev was tested tonight at UFC 302 but at the end of the day, the man from the mountains showed us why he’s the best lightweight on the planet. Dustin Poirier was staring down the barrel of a gun, the metaphorical equivalent of a retirement. He knew that this was his last shot at a world title, something that had eluded him his entire career. He had 25 minutes to go in there and fight a man most had as a 6 to 1 favourite and fight him he did.
It was clear from the opening bell that Porier would have to defend the champion’s fearsome takedowns. While he looked like he could stop the onslaught, Islam managed to dump him to the mat and stay on Poirier’s back for the rest of the round. The second round saw the two trade strikes but Dustin was just a step behind Islam. The Dagestani worked in his range and even managed to stun The Diamond a few times. Again, Dustin was getting his licks in but it was clear that Islam was just more technical everywhere.
Islam Makhachev is near unstoppable
A valiant effort in fighting off numerous takedown attempts saw the fans in the arena erupt every time Makhachev was denied. Dustin looked like he was heading to a true Rocky moment but it really is his bad luck that he ran into prime Khabib and now prime Islam. Poirier looked like he had his head screwed on right, he was tuned in and ready to go. He did not look like the guy who fought Khabib in Abu Dhabi or Charles Olivera. He looked like he wanted to win and showed the kind of grit and determination that you only hear about in the movies. But alas, a nasty ankle pick later, Dustin found himself fighting off a guillotine choke!
Oh, the irony. To make matters even worse, Islam then transitioned to a beautiful D’arce choke that ultimately put the challenger’s lights out as soon as he tapped. It also doesn’t help that Dustin has stated that his favourite submission is the D’arce and to his credit, he’s actually submitted two opponents in the UFC with that same choke. In the end, it was not the fairytale ending we’d all hoped for but it was the ascendancy of a new lightweight king.
The Rest of UFC 302
The rest of the card was a relatively ho-hum affair with Sean Strickland outpointing Paulo Costa in a tepid affair. Strickland is exactly the opposite of what he portrays. The man talks like he’s a marauder but fights like the safest technician on the roster. I’m just saying that he’s not what he advertises himself to be. Kevin Holland, on the other hand, is a gangster. He took a massive right from Michal Oleksiejczuk but recovered enough to slap on a slick armbar. With the right extension, Holland snapped Oleksiejczuk’s arm. Michal did protest but if your arm is snapped off, there’s nothing much you can do to stop the ref.
In the end, it was a lacklustre card from the UFC but we did get a banger main event. We all know how good the UFC can be when the company puts in a bit more effort so hopefully, we’ll see that in the upcoming Conor vs Chandler card.
