Dustin Poirier put up a valiant effort, but Islam Makhachev was a step ahead en route to another UFC lightweight title defense.
Makhachev submitted Poirier with a D’Arce choke at the 2:42 mark of the fifth round to retain the 155-pound championship in the UFC 302 main event Saturday night at Prudential Center in Newark.
Makhachev is now tied for the most successful title defenses in UFC lightweight history (three) with Khabib Nurmagomedov, BJ Penn, Benson Henderson, and Frankie Edgar. The Russian also now holds the longest winning streak in division history (13) on his own, breaking a tie with Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. Makhachev surpassed five fighters for the third-longest winning streak in UFC history overall (14), behind only Anderson Silva (16) and Kamaru Usman (15).