In what could be his final fight in the UFC, Lafayette’s own Dustin Poirier stepped into the octagon looking for the one thing that’s eluded him: the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship. Islam Makhachev was the favorite in this bout and he proved why, submitting The Diamond in the fifth round to retain the title.
The first round between Poirier and Makhachev started with rapid offense by both before the champion was able to get Poirier to the ground and into a body triangle for over three minutes. In the end, Poirier did just enough to survive and get to the second round.
The second round was a different story as the Lafayette native was able to land several significant strikes against Makhachev and rattled the champ late in the round.
Makhachev was able to bring Poirier to the ground again and dominate the first part of the third round, but the challenger found his way out of the triangle and landed a few key strikes late. However, Poirier’s left eye was swollen nearly shut and his nose was broken late in the round.
The fourth round continued the dynamic of the fight: two top fighters going blow for blow with good ground work, great takedown defense, and a lot of trash talk. Poirier and Makhachev each had strong strikes in the fourth and the champ landed another takedown as the bout went into the final round.
In the fifth round, Makhachev was in trouble with the striking attack that Poirier was able to use, so the champ went back to the ground game and was able to get Poirier to submit with 2 minutes remaining in the bout to retain the UFC Lightweight title.