UFC 302 Results: Islam Makhachev Retains Lightweight Title After Submission Win Over Dustin Poirier

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UFC lightweight Champion Islam Makachev retained his belt following a final-round submission win over Dustin Poirier in the headliner of UFC 302: Makachev vs. Poirier event in front of the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Sunday (June 2).

The sixth numbered event of 2024, which recorded 17,834 attendance and the highest grossing event in the history of the Prudential Center - $7.25 Million, saw the fans treated to a night of high-level MMA action in which 9 out of 12 fights went the distance.

All three stoppage wins on the card were submission finishes, including the main event, which was also the fight of the night, while Makachev topped off the night with double bonus as did Kevin Holland with performance of the night bonuses. Here is the recap from UFC 302:

UFC 302 Recap

Number one pound-for-pound Islam Makhachev defended his UFC lightweight belt against fan favorite #4 contender Dustin Poirier. The new UFC championship gold gloves made their first appearance as Makhachev opened with strikes and launched a takedown in the first minute.

Poirier fought off a kimura attempt, but Makhachev owned ground control for round one. Round two saw fortunes reversed as Poirier was able to stave off takedowns and use his inside boxing.

Makhachev knew it and adapted accordingly, but Poirier recovered from the ground and came back in the stand up, and the scenario repeated into round five. In a mad scramble, Makhachev was able to lock on a D'arce choke that forced Poirier to tap.

Following the title defence, UFC lightweight champion Makhachev said, "It's my favorite choke, I can do this all night. I think Dustin is great, he prepared very well. He defended my takedowns and gave me a hard time."

The champion also praised the veteran Poirier, adding "He's a champion legend of this sport. Thank you, Dustin. I want to fight for a second belt. I want to feel that energy again. (To fight for the welterweight belt) This is my dream."

Two of the most outspoken UFC athletes, former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and #7 Paulo Costa, went toe-to-toe for all five rounds of their co-main event.

Strickland stayed true to his high-level striking style, and Costa damaged with leg kicks. After the card went to the judges, two out of three rightly awarded Strickland the win due to his consistent output and two knockdowns.

After the split decision, Strickland said, "It was a boring fight, sorry you guys. That Brazilian was fast going backwards and I'm not known for being athletic, I tried. I thought we were going to have a war. Don't back up next time, please. I want to fight for the belt. I was a company man... give me that title shot!"

Also on the main card, Kevin Holland forced Michal Oleksiejczuk to tap out to an armbar in the first round of a middleweight bout after Niko Price outworked Alex Morono in a welterweight bout. Meanwhile, Randy Brown scored a decision win in the main card-opening welterweight bout.

On the preliminary card, Jailton Almeida sealed a submission win over Alexander Romanov via a rear naked choke (RNC) in the opening round of heavyweight bout, while Roman Kopylov, Grant Dawson and Jake Matthews earned decision wins over their respective opponents.

On the early prelims, Bassil Hafez, Allin Perez and Andre Lima earned the points on the judges scorecard to come out winners in their respective bouts. Here is a look at the final results of UFC 302:

UFC 302 Results

• Lightweight World Championship Bout: Islam Makhachev defeated Dustin Poirier by Submission (D'arce choke) at 2:42 of Round 5
• Middleweight Bout: Sean Strickland (46-49, 50-45) defeated Paulo Costa (49-46) by Split Decision
• Middleweight Bout: Kevin Holland defeated Michal Oleksiejczuk by Technical Submission (armbar) at 1:34 of Round 1
• Welterweight Bout: Niko Price (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeated Alex Morono by Unanimous Decision
• Welterweight Bout: Randy Brown (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeated Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos by Unanimous Decision
• Middleweight Bout: Roman Kopylov (29-28, 30-27) defeated Cesar Almeida (29-28) by Split Decision
• Heavyweight Bout: Jailton Almeida defeated Alexandr Romanov by Submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:27 of Round 1
• Lightweight Bout: Grant Dawson (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) defeated Joe Solecki by Unanimous Decision
• Welterweight Bout: Jake Matthews (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) defeated Philip Rowe by Unanimous Decision
• Welterweight Bout: Bassil Hafez (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) defeated Mickey Gall by Unanimous Decision
• Women's Bantamweight Bout: Ailin Perez (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) defeated Joselyne Edwards by Unanimous Decision
• Flyweight Bout: Andre Lima (30-27, 30-27) defeated Mitch Raposo (29-28) by Split Decision