The Russian defeated veteran Dustin Poirier with a fifth-round submission to defend his UFC light-weight belt within the US.
Islam Makhachev held on to his light-weight belt, taking out Dustin Poirier within the fifth spherical of their principal occasion at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.
Coming into the fifth spherical on Saturday evening, the Russian had a considerable minimize on his brow following repeated fights by the 35-year-old Poirer within the third and fourth rounds.
But it surely was Makhachev (26-1-Zero) who upset Poirer, profitable by submission at 2:42 of the ultimate spherical and has now gained 14 consecutive UFC fights, a streak that started with a win over Chris Wade on September 17, 2016.
In the meantime, Poirier (30-9-Zero) has alternated wins and losses in his final six fights. After the struggle, the American hinted that he would possibly retire from the UFC.
Saturday marked Makhachev's third profitable title protection.
In different motion, Sean Strickland (29-6-Zero) defeated Paulo Costa (14-Four-Zero) by break up determination in a middleweight bout with the playing cards studying 46-49, 50-45, 49-46 . Kevin Holland (26-11-Zero) additionally prevailed in a middleweight bout, defeating Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-Eight-Zero) through submission simply 1:34 into the primary spherical.
Niko Worth (16-7-Zero) and Randy Brown (19-5-Zero), two welterweights, gained their respective fights. Worth and Brown each gained by unanimous determination.