Islam Makhachev defeats Dustin Poirier by Submission (D'Arce choke)
Makhachev vs Poirier — Lightweight Title · UFC 302
What happened
The result, the defining moments, and what the verdict means.
Makhachev put Poirier on the canvas quickly in the first and advanced to his back.
Poirier defended takedowns as the fight became more scrappy and competitive through the later rounds.
Makhachev hurt Poirier in the fifth, switched from a guillotine attempt to a D'Arce choke and drew the tap at 2:42.
- Official UFC resultsUFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier — Main Card Results
Watch
The full fight.
More videos · 2 clips
Signature moments
Signature moments
Analysts
No verified pre-fight analyst picks are logged for this historical bout.
Track record rows appear only when a timestamped source has been reviewed.
Archive Pre-fight material — kept for transparency.
- 25-1-0
- Record
- 30-8-0
- 8-0 last 8
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- 34
- Age
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- 1.78 m
- Height
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- 179 cm
- Reach
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- Southpaw
- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
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- 67%
- Finish rateFinish %Finish rateThe share of a fighter’s wins that ended inside the distance — by KO/TKO or submission — rather than going to the judges’ scorecards. Higher means more finishes.
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- 5
- Wins by KO/TKOKO/TKO wins
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- 13
- Wins by submissionSub wins
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- 2.63
- Sig. strikes landed / minStrikes / minSignificant strikes landed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter lands for every minute of fight time — a read on striking output and pace. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- 1.55
- Sig. strikes absorbed / minAbsorbed / minSignificant strikes absorbed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter takes for every minute of fight time. Lower is better — it means they get hit less often. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- 61%
- Striking defenseStrike def.Striking defenseThe percentage of opponents’ significant strikes that do not land — strikes slipped, blocked or evaded. Higher is better. Not the same as striking accuracy, which counts your own strikes that land. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- 91%
- Takedown defenseTD def.Takedown defenseThe percentage of opponents’ takedown attempts that are stuffed. Higher means harder to put on the mat. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Russia
- Nationality
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Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Makhachev
Makhachev's route was to make Poirier defend every layer: disciplined entries, fence pressure, mat returns and a submission chain that could appear after four hard rounds.
Case for Poirier
Poirier needed to keep the fight in the pocket long enough for his boxing and body work to punish the champion's entries, while refusing to concede the back or front-headlock positions that end most Makhachev fights.
What We Were Watching For
- Whether Poirier's low kicks and boxing could slow Makhachev's entries.
- How often Makhachev could convert fence pressure into sustained control.
- Whether Poirier could survive the championship-round submission sequences.
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