Islam Makhachev’s Dramatic Fifth-Round Submission Win Can’t Save Disappointing UFC 302 Card

The end result was what many observers would have predicted. Islam Makhachev got his hand raised and defended his UFC lightweight championship with a submission win over Dustin Poirier. But Makhachev’s win didn’t feel as easy as it should have been.

When Makhachev didn’t lock up a submission in the first round, Poirier seemed to gain energy once the championship rounds came into play. Poirier focused on attacking the body in the fourth and fifth rounds. While the former interim lightweight champion would sting Makhachev several times, he couldn’t do enough to avoid the fate many predicted for him.

Makhachev scored another takedown midway through the fifth round. He would then lock in a D’arce choke that put Poirier to sleep right after the challenger tapped out. Makhachev has now successfully defended his championship three times.

The best MMA news sites show that Makhachev’s win wrapped up what was an underwhelming card. There were no knockouts in any of the fights contested. While there were three submission wins, many fighters turned in underwhelming performances. 

Sean Stickland Dominates Paulo Costa

On a night when most of the fights went to decisions, the UFC couldn’t afford to have poor judging. But there were several scorecards turned in by judge Dave Tirelli that made it appear like he had never watched the sport before. The most egregious came during the Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa fight in the co-main event.

Strickland will always struggle to impress judges because of his fighting style. Strickland fights out of a Philly shell, preferring a more upright stance to deflect punches. This focus on defense leaves Strickland without much power.

Instead, Strickland works behind his jab and utilizes his pressure to beat opponents. Strickland walked down Costa for five rounds and clearly outlanded him on the feet to win the fight. Tirelli gave the fight to Costa 49-46, drawing a surprised reaction from the crowd. Strickland called for another shot at the title after being a “company man” and fighting the seventh-ranked Costa.

A Fool’s Perseverance

Michael Oleksiejczuk cracked Kevin Holland during the first round of their middleweight fight. Oleksiejczuk sent Holland crashing to the floor with a stiff punch and didn’t waste time trying to land ground and pound. The problem for Oleksiejczuk was that Holland wasn’t ready to give up.

When Oleksiejczuk didn’t pull his arm away when Holland was trying to set up an armbar, everything came crashing down for the Polish fighter. He tried to dive over Holland’s body to loosen up the grip.

However, Oleksiejczuk was stuck on the ground, and Holland twisted his arm. Oleksiejczuk screamed in pain, and the fight was stopped due to a technical submission 94 seconds into the fight. It appeared after the fight, according to MMA latest updates, that Oleksiejczk’s arm had been injured during the finishing sequence.

Niko Price Slides by Morono Again

The sequel is seldom as good as the original. Niko Price knocked out Alex Morono back in 2017 when the two men first met. However, Price’s win was overturned because he failed a post-fight drug test.

Morono wanted another opportunity to fight Price. When a fighter pulled out of a chance to fight Price, Morono stepped in on four weeks’ notice. While Morono was able to land some solid strikes, he was noticeably tired by the time the third round rolled around.

Price wasn’t able to capitalize on Morono’s fatigue to pick up a knockout. However, he was able to do enough to earn the respect of the judges to pick up a unanimous decision win.

Kopylov Shows Off New Wrinkles

No one is ever going to confuse Roman Kopylov with an Olympic-level wrestler. But he is learning enough to make life difficult for opponents. While fighting undefeated kickboxing specialist César Almeida, Kopylov utilized his wrestling skills to avoid trading with a dangerous striker.

Kopylov scored takedowns in the third round to secure the win. In the first round, Kopylov had scored a knockdown and was seconds away from finishing the fight with ground-and-pound.

Jailton Almeida Fights Well Despite Size Disparity

Jailton Almeida seems like he is too small for the heavyweight division. During most of his fights in the weight class so far in the UFC, he has given up 30 pounds or more to his opponents. Almeida has continued to make it look like that doesn’t matter much to him.

When Almedia fought a more traditional heavyweight, Alexander Romanov, at UFC 302, he did damage quickly. Almeida scored a takedown within the first two minutes of the fight. Quick takedowns have been something Almeida has excelled at.

Where the Brazilian is showing improvement is working to finish the first. Almeida was criticized in his last fight for being too conservative after getting takedowns and was ultimately knocked out by Curtis Blaydes. That didn’t happen this time around, as Almeida quickly got on Romanov’s back to secure a choke and win the fight.

A Few Knees Save the Day

Randy Brown didn’t dazzle against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. The Jamaican fighter won a narrow decision on the strength of a few stiff knees he landed. However, Brown was nearly finished by dos Santos on the ground in the second round.

Dos Santos worked for a takedown and got on Brown’s back, but Brown was able to keep the pressure off and score a reversal. By ending the second round with strikes on top, he gained enough confidence to finish the fight.

Here’s a look at the fights that weren’t mentioned above:

• Lightweight, Grant Dawson win by decision over Joe Solecki, 30-27 (x2), 29-28
• Welterweight, Jake Matthews win by decision over Philip Rowe, 29-28 (2) 30-27
• Welterweight Bassil Hafez win by decision over Mickey Gall, 30-27 (x2) 29-28
• Women’s bantamweight, Ailin Perez win by decision over Joselyne Edwards, 29-28 (x2) 30-27
• Catchweight, Andre Lima win by split decision over Mitch Raposo, 30-27 (x2) Lima, 29-28 Raposo.

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By Dean McHugh.