Islam Makhachev successfully defends lightweight title at UFC 302
Feb 12, 2023; Perth, WA, AUSTRALIA; Islam Makhachev (red gloves) during the fight against Alexander Volkanovski (not pictured) during UFC 284 at RAC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports Islam Makhachev held on to his lightweight belt on Saturday night, getting Dustin Poirier to tap out in the fifth round of their main event bout at UFC 302 in Newark, N.J.
Makhachev (26-1-0) won by submission at 2:42 of the final round and has now prevailed in 14 straight UFC fights, a streak that started with a victory over Chris Wade on Sept. 17, 2016. Meanwhile, Poirier (30-9-0) has alternated wins and losses over his past six fights.
Saturday marked the third time Makhachev successfully defended his title.
In other action, Sean Strickland (29-6-0) downed Paulo Costa (14-4-0) by split decision in a middleweight bout, with the cards reading 46-49, 50-45, 49-46. Kevin Holland (26-11-0) also prevailed in a middleweight fight, defeating Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-8-0) by submission just 1:34 into the first round.
Niko Price (16-7-0) and Randy Brown (19-5-0), two welterweights, also won their respective fights. Price and Brown both won by unanimous decision.
--Field Level Media
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