UFC 302: Islam Makhachev v Dustin Poirier; Sean Strickland v Paulo Costa

Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) defeated Dustin Poirier(30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) in the fifth round during their main event face-off in UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, United States, on Saturday local time.

Poirier,35, fended off multiple takedown attempts and escaped submissions for 4 rounds, before Makhachev,32, finally caught him during a scramble with a tight ankle pick that allowed him to snatch a d'arce choke and elicit the tap out at 2:42 in the final frame.

The Dagestani grappler put Poirier on the mat early in the third round, and put himself in the same position, with a body triangle, fishing for another choke. The champion transitioned to full mount, and it appeared that the end was near. Once again, Poirier found a way out, with blood pouring from his nose.

Poirier shrugged off multiple takedown attempts in the fourth round and managed to cut Makhachev with a short elbow to the forehead.

"He did very good," an exhausted Makhachev said after the fight. "He defended my takedown and gave me a hard time." The champion also said: "I want to fight for a second belt. When you defend the belt, it's not the same. I need a new one. This is my dream."

Poirier on his part said, "I know I can compete with the rest of these guys, but if I do, am I fighting just to fight?" The Louisiana native added "I got a little girl and a family at home, but I got to see [what's next]. This could be it."

Meanwhile earlier in the co-main event, UFC fans at the Prudential Center booed sporadically during what was a mostly boring face-off between Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) and Paulo Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC).

Fans had earlier cheered loudly for Strickland,33, who entered to a walkout song of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” but started booing the boring performance that led to the unanimous decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46) win after 5 rounds.

Strickland went on a rampage in the final seconds of Round 5, as he bounded at Costa,33, with jumping kicks and punches.

One judge scored the fight in favor of Costa (to the audible surprise of many in the audience), the other two went with Strickland, the winner.

After the fight and shaking hands with former president Donald Trump, who was in attendance, Strickland called for a title shot after being “a company man” and taking the Costa fight.

The outspoken champion also expressed support for Trump over his recent sham conviction by a jury in New York city trial. He pledged to donate to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

WATCH UFC 302 highlights