UFC 5 - MAKHACHEV VS POIRIER

UFC 5 - MAKHACHEV VS POIRIER

At UFC 302 Islam Makhachev defends his lightweight title against the number 4 ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier in the main event.

Poirier, a veteran and fan favourite, held the interim belt in 2019 but was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov while trying to unify the gold. Two years later, Poirier suffered the same result against Charles Oliveira, and the American faces a similar threat on Saturday – in what may be his last fight, he has hinted.

Poirier will challenge Khabib’s protege Makhachev, who won the lightweight title in 2022 and has emerged as the UFC’s pound-for-pound No 1 fighter. After submitting Oliveira to win the belt, Makhachev retained it twice in 2023 against then-featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski – once on points, once by knockout.