Islam Makhachev defended his title for a third time matching the all-time UFC record for lightweight title defenses. However, it did not come easy as Makhachev was pushed to the absolute limit by Poirier. After securing a submission in the final few minutes, Makhachev’s camp could not contain their excitement which landed Usman Nurmagomedov in trouble with the UFC.
Makhachev has steamrolled his opponents so far in the UFC. This was only the second time he was in a spot of serious bother during a fight. Makhachev and Poirier were evenly matched and both men landed some big shots and had their moments.
Makhachev resorted to his bread and butter and tried to secure takedowns on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, they were not very effective as Poirier did an outstanding job in defending most of the takedowns. Even when he found himself on the ground Poirier managed to find a way up.
Regardless, Makhachev found a way to tap Poirier out and in an exhilarating moment of celebration, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s younger brother and Bellator fighter Usman jumped the cage to congratulate Islam. Unfortunately, he found himself being escorted by security.
Usman Nurmagomedov got kicked out of the venue for jumping the barrier to celebrate with Islam Makhachev #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/DQnT6fdG6C
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 2, 2024
Since he was not an official cornerman, he was there in violation of the rules for jumping into the cage.
Khabib Nurmagomedov praises protege Islam Makhachev for his win at UFC 302
Following the win, ‘The Eagle’ shared his thoughts on what was an extremely competitive fight. He stated that humans do not know what they are capable of till they are put in a position where they have to push themselves. The former champion stated that Makhachev grew a lot thanks to his performance today to defend the title.
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Nurmagomedov stated that Makhachev dug deep and reached a level that he probably didn’t know existed within him. It took almost all of 25 minutes for him to ultimately find a way to finish the fight. And when he saw a way, he was quick to act on it and finish the fight.
