This former UFC champion believes Dustin Poirier didn’t do enough to win a single round in the fight against Makhachev at UFC 302.
The main event of UFC 302 ended up being more competitive than many predicted heading into last Saturday night. Dustin Poirier was able to pose a serious threat to champion Islam Makhachev, mainly by keeping the fight standing and avoiding submissions. Although the reigning champion managed to secure a takedown and submission in the fifth round, up to that point the fight was largely fought in striking.
Makhachev showed in his fight against Alexander Volkanovski that while it is not necessarily his strong suit, he is quite capable of hitting his opponents as he gains confidence in this area to the point of putting them KO. However, just because Poirier was able to stand and punch doesn’t necessarily mean he won the fight or even a round.
Robert Whittaker talks about Dustin Poirier
Islam Makhachev was ahead on two of the judges’ cards heading into the fifth and final round, with Eric Colon and Sal D’Amato both believing that Dustin Poirier needed a finish to walk away with the under-70 world title. kilos. Judge Chris Lee thought the fight was evenly matched, but as he stated on his MMArcade Podcastformer middleweight champion Robert Whittaker felt the fight was much more one-sided than that.
‘The Reaper’ said that despite the quality of the fight, the champion won every round thanks to his boxing and grappling.
“Makhachev beat him in most rounds, I saw him win every round. I think he outplayed him in a lot of rounds, I understand there were a lot of significant strikes between them, a lot of highlights, but it was great to watch. Like I said, I think this was one of the best title fights we’ve seen in a long time. But Poirier didn’t win a round. »
What do you think of Whittaker’s words?
