Dustin Poirier was denied a fairytale ending in the Octagon on Saturday, as Islam Makhachev submitted the fan favorite to retain the lightweight title at UFC 302.
Poirier, 35, was fighting for the title for the third time, having previously suffered submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019 and Charles Oliveira in 2021. The American previously held the interim belt but failed to unify the gold. He hinted before and after UFC 302 that he might not fight again.
Poirier performed admirably across four-and-a-half rounds against Makhachev, the UFC’s pound-for-pound No. 1. However, the Russian out-grappled Poirier for much of the bout and secured a D’Arce choke in the final frame. Poirier tapped out and appeared to briefly lose consciousness as Makhachev recorded his third successful title defense.
In doing so, Makhachev matched the number of defenses achieved by Khabib, his coach and childhood friend, who reigned from 2018 until his retirement in 2020.
Makhachev commended Poirier and called for a shot at the welterweight title next. Leon Edwards is set to defend the belt against Belal Muhammad in Manchester in August. There was a lot of respect between Poirier and Makhachev, and between Poirier and Khabib.
Poirier, reflecting on the fight, said, “Yeah, man, he’s the champ. I thought I was chipping away. I stopped most of [his takedowns] in the open, but here he did a low single, an ankle pick and whipped my leg up. And that was that.
“If I do fight again, what am I fighting for? Just to fight? I think this could be it honestly, Joe,” he told Joe Rogan. “I’m not 100 percent [sure], but if this is my last fight, I want to dedicate this to the people who made me the person I am today – the women in my life.”
He paid tribute to his late grandmother, his mother, and shouted out his wife and daughter who were ringside. “We alright, baby,” he said to his daughter. “Always chase your dreams, it’s a beautiful thing.”
In the fifth and final round, Poirier needed a finish. He kicked low and shook off a single-leg attempt from Makhachev. Poirier landed an elbow in the clinch and tried to push Makhachev away, but Makhachev landed another knee to the body and attempted a single-leg, partially taking Poirier down. He transitioned to a guillotine and then to a D’Arce choke, forcing Poirier to tap out, thus retaining his title.
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