Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev successfully defended his title for a third time against former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 main event last Saturday. The title bout earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.
Two of the judges had the fight tied after four rounds. Poirier was able to fend off most of Makhachev’s takedown attempts after the opening round keeping the match on their feet. While Makhachev consistently looked to get the fight to the ground, he wasn’t outmatched in the striking department.
Most known for his grappling prowess with 12 submission wins, Makhachev isn’t exactly a fish out of water when it comes to striking. Five of his 26 wins have been by knockout. He stopped former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski with a head kick followed by punches in his previous fight heading into the UFC 302 title bout against Poirier.
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley believes Makhachev’s striking is largely underrated. “Islam is underrated striking,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “He was ripping some sweet combos.”
The title loss may have been Poirier’s last octagon performance. Having lost three title fights, Poirier will go down as arguably the greatest UFC fighter never to hold win UFC gold.
UFC 302 took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The lightweight title bout between Makhachev and Poirier headlined the pay-per-view event. The event marked the fight promotion’s tenth event in Newark.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/sean-omalley-islam-makhachev-has-underrated-striking
