He defeated Russian veteran Dustin Poirier by submission in the fifth round to defend his UFC lightweight belt in the USA.
Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight belt, knocking out Dustin Poirier in the fifth round of their main event bout at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.
Entering the fifth round on Saturday night, the Russian had a large cut on his forehead as a result of repeated takedowns by Poirier, 35, in the third and fourth rounds.
But it was Makhachev (26-1-0) who turned the tables on Poirier, winning by submission at 2:42 of the final round and now on a 14-fight winning streak in the UFC, a streak that began with a victory over Chris Wade on September 17, 2016.
Meanwhile, Poirier (30-9-0) has alternated between wins and losses over his past six fights. After the fight, the American hinted that he might retire from the UFC.
Saturday was the third time Makhachev had successfully defended his title.
In another bout, Sean Strickland (29-6-0) defeated Paulo Costa (14-4-0) by split decision in a middleweight bout, with the cards reading 46-49, 50-45, 49-46. Kevin Holland (26-11-0) was also victorious in a middleweight fight, defeating Michal Oleksijuk (19-8-0) via submission just 1:34 into the first round.
Nico Price (16-7-0) and Randy Brown (19-5-0), two welterweights, also won their fights. Price and Brown both won via unanimous decision.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”