UFC 302 wrapped up earlier this week with Islam Makhachev retaining against Dustin Poirier winning via D’arce Choke submission in the 5th round of a great fight between Makhachev and Poirier. Sean Strickland also went 5 rounds and beat Paulo Costa via split decision in a shocking split call with many believing that Strickland won quite easily.

Sean Strickland defeats Paulo Costa via Split Decision.

Sean Strickland defeated Paulo Costa this weekend with the fight going all the way to decision. Strickland was constantly applying pressure and forcing Paulo to back off which in turn forced him to play right into Strickland’s game plan. Paulo began the fight off well as he landed some mean leg and calf kicks which seemed to hinder Strickland’s mobility causing him to switch stances however, Strickland began to check a lot of Costa’s kicks. This caused severe issues for Costa as that seemed to be his only game plan especially with the pressure that Strickland applied, it was hard for Costa to come and create any impact against Strickland. The fight went to the judges’ scorecards and shockingly, a split decision verdict was said by Bruce Buffer and judge Dave Tirelli had given Costa the fight with a 49-46 scorecard which was an embarrassing judging display. Chris Lee and Sal D’Amato gave the fight to Strickland, 50-45 and 49-46 respectively. Dana White said in his post fight press conference that he believes judge Dave Tirelli should be “sent back to the minor leagues” after scoring the fight for Costa.

What is next for Sean Strickland?

Sean Strickland now has to fight Dricus Du Plessis or the champion in his next fight. Strickland had a very controversial loss to Du Plessis and beating a figher way lower than him in the rankings should guarantee him a title shot next. We don’t know the status of Israel Adesanya who we know will get a world title shot when he returns to action however, we do not know whether he will fighting at UFC 305 in Perth so if he is not available, Strickland should get the title shot against Du Plessis at UFC 305.

Islam Makhachev defeats Dustin Poirier via Submission in the 5th round

Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier put on a classic. Islam defeated Poirier in the 5th via D’arce choke and Islam really showed his entire skillset in this fight to show why he is one of the most well balanced fighters in the world. He stood up with Poirier and traded in multiple exchanges which he won majority of them exchanges and implemented his wrestling in key moments such as in the first round where he had Poirier’s back for about 4 minutes but could not get the finish. Dustin Poirier really showed up and used great takedown defence to stop some of the takedowns of Islam, he also had an amazing 4th round where he outlanded Islam in significant strikes however, in the 5th round, Islam landed a beautiful sweep on Poirier which he then pounced on Dustin who got caught in a d’arce choke and unfortunately tapped and got slept by the pound for pound king. Dustin Poirier announcing he may retire in the post fight interview which was met with a sigh of disappointment yet gratitude by the MMA community as we witnessed the career of El Diamantè.

What is next for Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev has said he wants new opponents and wants to fight against the winner of Leon vs Belal for the undisputed welterweight championship so he can achieve the double champ status. However, UFC President Dana White has said that he doesn’t oppose Islam moving up but he does feel that Islam should face Arman Tsarukyan in his next fight potentially in Abu Dhabi or in Madison Square Garden in October or November. I believe Islam should defend against Arman and if he gets passed Arman, then he should be guaranteed the shot at the welterweight championship potentially against Shavkat Rakhmanov if the stars align.

Overall, I believe that UFC 302 was a good PPV with an amazing main event that shot the event to a 7.5/10. Now we roll onto UFC 303 with the return of Conor McGregor.