UFC 302 was another historic night in the UFC. Although most of the fights went to a decision, making it a long night of fights, the wait for the Main Event was worth the wait. With this most likely being Dustin Poirier’s last shot at fighting for the belt, this was a fantastic back-and-forth fight.
Dustin Poirier vs Islam Makhachev- image, MMAJunkie
How The Fight Went
Although Islam was a (-600) favorite before the fight began. Dustin was able to make this a close fight up until the fifth round. With many expecting an early finish, few people thought we’d see this fight enter the championship round. Dustin was able to keep the fight standing throughout, only allowing Islam to complete 5 out of 16 takedowns. One standout was Islam’s proficiency on the feet. With Dustin needing to keep this fight on the feet, nobody was expecting Islam to out-strike him for every round but one and being able to eat every clean shot Dustin landed. However, in the fifth round, Islam was able to grab his leg and spin him around, leading him to get a D’Arce choke. Now, losing his third chance at getting the gold wrapped around his belt, the question is, what’s next?
Dustin during his fight vs Islam- image, MMAKnockout
What’s Next For Dustin?
In his post-fight interview, he explained to Joe Rogan that he’s “not 100 percent if this is his last fight.” With Dustin’s future shaky, and whether he decides to hang up the gloves or looks to fight again, he’s had a Hall Of Fame career. Even though he never won the belt, he’s had to go against Prime Khabib Nurmagomedov, Prime Charles Oliveira, and now Prime Islam Mackhachev when it was his chance for the belt. Being a fan favorite for most of his career, Dustin has always been must-see TV whenever he’s fighting. If Dustin decides to fight again, many fights are at his disposal, including interest from Alexander Volkanovski. However, all of us UFC fans agree that we want to see him keep fighting in the UFC. For more articles, check out Fighter Spotlight.
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