Islam Makhachev scores late submission of Dustin Poirier to retain title.
He proved he’s still the best. However, it is interesting to see how he fight in future.
It took five rounds, but Makhachev finally was able to lock Poirier into a D'Arce choke and got "The Diamond" to tap.
Makhachev made his winning moves to earn the stoppage at 2:42 of the fifth and final round.
Makhachev expressed his desire to fight for a second belt, moving up to welterweight, during his in-ring interview.
Poirier, 35, was fighting for the title for the third time, having previously suffered submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019 and Charles Oliveira in 2021.
Poirier told the crowd he was uncertain about his future but said this very well could have been his final fight.
That’s now three consecutive successful title defenses and 14 straight wins for Makhachev, who continues to reign supreme in the lightweight division.
This win would give him an argument that he's the best lightweight champion in history.