UFC 302 results and analysis: Makhachev beats Poirier in a thriller - ESPN

Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight title in a five-round thriller versus Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey. Makhachev locked in a D'Arce choke late in the fifth round to force Poirier to tap.

In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland is officially back on the title track as he defeated Paulo Costa by split decision in a five-round contest.

During the UFC 302 postfight news conference, Makhachev and Poirier earned Fight of the Night bonuses. Additionally, Makhachev and Kevin Holland took home Performance of the Night bonuses.

Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale and Dre Waters broke down all of the action in Newark, including big wins from Holland, Niko Price and Randy Brown.

Lightweight championship: Islam Makhachev © def. Dustin Poirier

Middleweight: Sean Strickland def. Paulo Costa

Middleweight: Kevin Holland def. Michal Oleksiejczuk

Welterweight: Niko Price def. Alex Morono

Welterweight: Randy Brown def. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

Middleweight: Roman Kopylov def. Cesar Almeida

Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida def. Alexandr Romanov

Lightweight: Grant Dawson def. Joe Solecki

Welterweight: Jake Matthews def. Phil Rowe

Welterweight: Bassil Hafez def. Mickey Gall

Women's bantamweight: Ailin Perez def. Joselyne Edwards

Men's flyweight: Andre Lima def. Mitch Raposo

© = defending champion

«I think I'm knocking on the door,» Poirier told ESPN about his ongoing aspiration to be the lightweight champion. «If I win this undisputed belt on June 1, you can stack my résumé against any other 155-pound fighter in the world. I think I'm close to being the greatest.»

That résumé includes almost everything Poirier set out to accomplish nearly 20 years ago. Poirier is the only person to