UFC 302 took place on June 1st, 2024, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and the main event featured a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.
The champion, Makhachev, came into this fight on a 13-fight win streak and got a knockdown win over Alexander Volkanovski in his last defense at UFC 294. Dustin Poirier had a knockout win over Benoit Saint-Denis in his last outing, a fight that earned him the next title shot.
During the buildup, Dustin Poirier started hinting at retirement, whether he won the championship or not. With the fight resulting in Poirier taking another loss on his resume, the question on everybody’s minds is will the UFC end his fighting career?
Poirier vs Makhachev
Dustin Poirier took on Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 for Islam’s UFC Lightweight Championship. The fight did not go the way Dustin expected it to, as he lost by submission in Round 5.
However, Dustin proved to the world that he still has what it takes to compete and contend in the lightweight division. He took the champion to 5 rounds in their fight and went into the 5th with a potential 38-38 coming into it, a score that one of the judges had on their cards.
He showed his great striking ability, which was something that was to be expected by Dustin coming into this fight, but he also showcased his amazing ability to defend takedowns. This fight also proved that Islam Makhachev is extremely underrated on the feet, as he was able to stand toe-to-toe with one of the greatest strikers of all time.
Legendary UFC Career
Dustin Poirier has one of the greatest UFC resumes of all time with his legendary victories over some of the best fighters in the company’s history. He is very well a top 15 fighter in history and could potentially be put in the top 10 as well.
He is the only fighter to have multiple wins over Conor Mcgregor, as he defeated him twice in 2021, one via TKO and the other by stoppage as Conor could not continue. Dustin is also a former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion, a title he won after defeating Max Holloway by decision.
Max Holloway himself is considered one of the greatest to ever do it, and Dustin defeated him both times they stepped into the octagon with each other. He also has a win over Justin Gaethje, as the two legendary fighters’ head-to-head record stands at 1-1. Dustin is tied for 4th for the most wins in UFC history and 4th for the most finishes in UFC history.
Retirement?
Dustin Poirier had hinted during the buildup to UFC 302 that he could retire after that fight. This makes perfect sense for him and his personal life as he explained that he has a family that he wants to spend more time with and take care of.
During his interview after the fight against Makhachev, Dustin Poirier stated “This could be it, honestly.” He didn’t doubt himself though, as he also said that he could still hang with the best of the division and he just proved that. His main reasoning for hinting retirement is that there’s not much to fight for anymore, he’s already fought the best of the best and there’s no reason for him to continue competing.
If this is the end for Dustin Poirier, he will certainly go down as one of the greatest to ever do it, and certainly the greatest to never win a world title. He will also be remembered as one of the best strikers of all time, something that he showed with his 11 KOs/TKOs, tied for 3rd most in UFC history. The future Hall of Famer could very well hang up the gloves soon, and if that’s the case, his legendary career will never be forgotten.
About The Author
Shayan Malik has always been an avid fan of sports. He is currently studying sports communication, as he is hoping to take his sports knowledge to the next level. He enjoys writing about combat sports such as MMA, wrestling, and boxing.
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