Fight Coverage
The Bigger Picture | UFC 302
Tucking Into Some Of The Larger Takeaways From Saturday Night’s Action At Prudential Center
With another pay-per-view event in the books, it’s time to push past the results and take a look at some of the greater takeaways stemming from UFC 302 on Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey, in the latest instalment of The Bigger Picture.
Let’s get into it.
Makhachev Continues Making Case for All-Time Status
Islam Makhachev continued his march towards all-time great status on Saturday, posting a fifth-round submission win over Dustin Poirier to close out UFC 302.
It’s the third consecutive successful title defense for the lightweight champion and his 14th consecutive victory overall. The former number brings him into a multi-way tie for the most consecutive successful defenses in the division, and the latter nudges him one win ahead of his long-time teammate and now coach Khabib Nurmagomedov in terms of consecutive victories inside the Octagon.
Each time out, the 32-year-old champion continues answering whatever questions remain about him, and doing it in a manner that forces you to consider that he just might be the best lightweight in the history of the sport.
Makhachev tapped out Charles Oliveira to win the title, running through him in Abu Dhabi. His first title defense came in an instant classic with Alexander Volkanovski, at the time considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. His second came in a short-notice rematch with the Australian, one he ended in three minutes.
Saturday night, he bested Poirier, a beloved challenger looking to score the one win that has eluded him throughout his career, and he did it by showing grit, tenacity, and the kind of keen finishing instincts that we traditionally celebrate. In the heat of a competitive fight, blood streaming down his face from a gnarly cut above his eye, Makhachev turned a scramble into a finishing opportunity, and took determining the outcome of the fight into his own hands.
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Makhachev is a complete, skilled, dominating force that happily accepts every challenge placed before him and yearns to keep proving himself against the best competition possible.
Because he’s faced three of the most popular, most celebrated good guys in the sport over his last four outings, it feels like Makhachev is always positioned as the “bad guy” in these matchups — the guy you’re supposed to cheer against, not celebrate — and, as a result, his greatness and the impressiveness of what he’s doing doesn’t quite resonate as much as it should.
Makhachev is getting dangerously close to prompting conversations about where he fits in the pantheon of all-time greats, if we’re not there already.
The Thing About Dustin Poirier…
Dustin Poirier Talks Post-Fight With Megan Olivi | UFC 302
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Dustin Poirier Talks Post-Fight With Megan Olivi | UFC 302
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This is admittedly going to sound weird to some, but the way Saturday night’s main event between Poirier and Makhachev played out actually feels truly reflective of what has made “The Diamond” such an incredible competitor and fan favorite over the course of his career.
It didn’t take long for it to be clear that Makhachev was the superior talent — he took Poirier down early in the first after stinging him on the feet, and spent the remainder of the frame looking to create opportunities to submit him — and it prompted Poirier to do what he does better than just about anyone: dig deep and try to find a way.
He listened to the direction of his chief corner Mike Brown and worked to stay off the fence, denying takedowns and forcing Makhachev to work harder when he did manage to get him to the mat.
He hiked up his shorts, bit down on his gumshield and waded into the fray, accepting that he was going to have to take some punishment if he wanted to dole some out.
He smiled and called the champion in when he got hit with something good, and responded in kind, slicing open Makhachev in the fourth while taking a fight that looked destined to be done quickly with how the opening round played out into the final frame.
And even there, he worked, he hustled, he tried his absolute damnedest to avoid bad spots and give himself a chance to win, right up until he was caught dead to rights and had to tap.
There was a lot of talk about Poirier “finishing his story” on Saturday, a narrative adopted from the journey of WWE champ Cody Rhodes heading into WrestleMania, where he won the title. Although the challenger didn’t exit as the champion, thus being denied his fairytale ending, this contest was actually the epilogue to a story that was finished a few years ago.
UFC 302 REWIND: Final Results | Bonus Winners | Makhachev Interview
Poirier has been an exceptional competitor, thrilling fighter, and incredible ambassador for this sport for some time now; those things remain as true today as they did all along, regardless of the fact that he left New Jersey without the undisputed title in tow.
If this is the end of the line for the 35-year-old standout, call the tailors and get them to start fitting him for his Hall of Fame jacket because title or not, that’s where he’s headed.
Winning the title undoubtedly would have been an incredible way for Poirier to go out, but this actually felt truer to his story, more telling of who he is and why we’ve all loved him for so long.
Congrats, Champ, and thank you.
Incredible Self-Awareness
Kevin Holland Octagon Interview | UFC 302
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Kevin Holland Octagon Interview | UFC 302
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“I’m just the best gatekeeper you guys have ever seen.”
Kevin Holland declared the above following his first-round submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk and truer words have never been spoken inside the Octagon. In a sport where hyperbole and hyping one’s self up are the norm, Holland showed incredible self-awareness in declaring himself an elite gatekeeper.
First and foremost, gatekeeper, like journeyman, isn’t a dirty word — it’s simply a designation; a way of identifying a fighter that hasn’t quite reached a certain level, but is also entrenched in their position within their respective division.
Top 5 fighters can be gatekeepers.
There can be more than one in the Top 15 in any weight class at any given time, and there are others posted at different stations throughout each division; some guarding the doors of the rankings, others holding the checklist that details whether a fighter is ready to gain entrance into the middle of the pack.
Secondly, whether you want to call him a “gatekeeper” or something different, the fact is that Holland has had multiple opportunities to push into contention in two different weight classes, come up short each time, and is now leaning all the way into the role he’s best suited for in the UFC: being the guy that fights four, five, maybe even six times a year, bouncing between welterweight and middleweight as needed, endeavoring to put on entertaining fights every time out.
This is what people have always loved about Holland — his genuine willingness to jump into any opportunity with gusto — and it seems like that is what we’re going to continue to get going forward, which means this is a tremendous development for everyone involved.
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Honestly, it would be nice if more folks could be this self-aware and comfortable with where they fit in the grand scheme of things.
Quick Hitters
Niko Price and Alex Morono are what I frequently call “ecosystem fighters” — individuals that aren’t really in the rankings mix, but are crucial to the life of their respective divisions. Their bout on Saturday was entertaining, and going forward, each should continue to serve as solid veteran tests for hopefuls in the welterweight ranks and veterans looking to prove they’ve still got one last run in them.
Randy Brown needs to get a Top 15 opponent next time out. He’s won three straight and seven of his last eight, with his one loss coming against Jack Della Maddalena, who is 7-0 in the UFC and positioned at No. 5 in the rankings. His callout of Geoff Neal feels pretty close to perfect given the landscape of the division.
Randy Brown Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Randy Brown Post-Fight Interview | UFC 302
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Roman Kopylov mixed the martial arts on Saturday night to grind out a win over Cesar Almeida. Some fans didn’t like it because they weren’t treated to the “stand-and-bang” kickboxing match they were hoping for between the two, but it was a wise strategy for getting things moving in the right direction again.
Jailton Almeida versus Ciryl Gane in Paris in September sounds fantastic. I know “Malhadinho” didn’t exactly call out the former interim champ — he just mentioned Paris as a place he’d like to visit — but that fight makes too much sense to not put together at this point.
Grant Dawson is suffocating, and is quickly becoming one of those fighters you have to keep off you at all costs, or else you’re going to be stuck on the canvas for the remainder of the round.
And with that, I’m out.
See you again after UFC 303.
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!
