Islam Makhachev defeats Dustin Poirier in a grueling title fight

Islam Makhachev retained his UFC lightweight title after submitting Dustin Poirier in the fifth round at UFC 302 in New Jersey.

The Russian won his 14th straight fight under the UFC banner with a d’arce choke in the third minute, undermining his American opponent’s quest to become the undisputed champion.

With former US President Donald Trump in the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, Makhachev landed 88 key strikes – 147 in total – and five takedowns on his way to victory.

Poirier, 35, joins the ranks of UFC fighters who have fallen short after losing in three title fights.

Previously, ex-UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland earned a split-decision victory over ex-title challenger Paulo Costa.

The 33-year-old American retained the number one spot in the middleweight rankings by coming back from his title-losing decision match against Dricus du Plessis.

Kevin Holland needed just one minute and 34 seconds to win his middleweight fight with Michal Oleksiejczuk by submission.

Also on the main card, Niko Price and Randy Brown each claimed unanimous decision victories in the welterweight category, defeating Alex Morono and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, respectively.