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From top to bottom, UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier is littered with recognizable names. One of the most notable themes to come from a close look at the card is that the athletes of UFC 302 have produced a handful of excellent submission wins.
For example, with just a look at the UFC lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier, the two have a combined 19 submission victories.
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UFC 302 is just days away so take a deep dive into some of the best submissions from fighters on the card.
WWE superstar CM Punk had all eyes on him when he made his UFC debut against Mickey Gall, but it was the New Jersey kid who shined at UFC 203.
Gall took Punk down right away and landed some solid strikes before submitting him with a rear naked choke at 2:14 in the first round. The win put Gall on a short list of exciting welterweight prospects and showcased that his jiu jitsu style was his go-to style of fighting.
A welterweight clash between respected veterans Alex Morono and Tim Means kicked off the UFC Charlotte main card.
After a close first round, it was “The Great White” who put together a fight-finishing sequence in the second round. Means ducked under a spinning strike from Morono and level changed into a takedown attempt, which Morono used to lock up a guillotine choke.
All the way back in 2014, Jake Matthews was the youngest fighter on the roster. “The Celtic Kid” made his debut at lightweight as just 19 years old and he made a great first impression with his third-round submission over Dashon Johnson.
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Matthews was well ahead on the scorecards when Johnson scrambled free to get into guard in the third. Matthews put up a quick triangle choke that forced a tap from Johnson, and Matthews has been fighting in the UFC ever since.
Dana White’s Contender Series grad Joe Solecki showed his grappling prowess against Carl Deaton III. The New Jersey native spent the better portion of the first two rounds on Deaton’s back and working toward a choke. Finally, despite vigilant defending from Deaton, Solecki was able to get his forearm under the neck and get the rear naked choke win.
The win helped solidified Solecki as a rising player in the lightweight division and put him on a trajectory to face veterans Drakkar Klose and Grant Dawson.
The rise of Grant Dawson from prospect to contender really picked up steam when the American Top Team representative delivered his best performance to date against Mark O. Madsen.
Dawson bounced back from immediate adversity in the bout, getting dropped out of the gate, and then outdueling the Olympic medalist on the canvas. In the third, Dawson was able to find a rear naked choke submission and get the victory. It was the most emphatic win of Dawson’s promising UFC career without question.
Out in São Paulo, Brazil, it was Randy Brown who was triumphant when he collided with Warlley Alves.
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Brown had a tough first round, as Alves found a lot of success grappling and getting Brown down to the floor. In the second, he threw a kick which Alves caught, and he put Brown on his back. “Rudeboy” tossed up a triangle choke and held Alves in it for almost forty seconds. Brown connected with some nice elbows while he waited for the choke to get tighter and eventually force Alves to tap.
Alexandr Romanov pulled off a unique submission win against Marcos Rogério de Lima. With a little over a minute left, he took de Lima to the ground and found a forearm choke submission; it was the first one in UFC history and put Romanov on the heavyweight map as a real submission threat.
Brazilian heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida proved that he was ready for the heavyweight elite in his first main event bout. Almeida faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik and took down his foe in less than a minute.
Almeida was patient and found the mount, where he gave Rozenstruik the option of taking strikes or giving up his back. The second Rozenstruik chose to give up his back, Almeida locked in the choke. It was a great win for Almeida, and it pushed him up the ladder into the heavyweight elite.
The Kevin Holland welterweight train continued to gain steam with a near flawless performance against Michael Chiesa.
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Holland stuffed Chiesa’s takedown attempts while landing nice shots against the fence, including a knee in the clinch that dropped Chiesa into a takedown position. That’s when Holland secured a D’Arce Choke and flipped Chiesa to his back. That was all she wrote. A brilliant win for “Trailblazer” that solidified his spot in the welterweight rankings.
Dustin Poirier has been at the top of the lightweight division for years, and his rear naked choke submission win over Michael Chandler kept him right in the lightweight title mix.
At Madison Square Garden, under the brightest lights possible, Poirier battled back from a tough second round to wear Chandler down and find the submission. It was a classic Poirier performance after which he reminded everyone that he has jiu jitsu.
Winning the UFC lightweight championship by submitting the all-time leader in submissions? Yeah, that’s quite the accomplishment and all the more reason why Islam Makhachev’s win over Charles Oliveira was so impressive.
Makhachev dropped Oliveira with a strike and quickly pounced on an arm triangle submission. Oliveira knew the choke was in and he tapped, making Makhachev the latest athlete to become the lightweight champ and he hasn’t looked back since.
UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier took place live from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 1, 2024. See the Final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses, and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!