Tag: UFC 302

Georges St-Pierre: UFC champ Islam Makhachev is ‘the best pound-for-pound right now’

UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre is the latest to back Islam Makhachev as the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA over Jon Jones.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] is the latest high-profile name to back [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] as the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA over Jon Jones.

After Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) registered his third consecutive lightweight title defense with a fifth-round submission of Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 this month, UFC CEO Dana White stirred up the pound-for-pound discussion when he definitively dubbed Jones as No. 1.

White’s comments sparked a flurry of debate across the MMA community, and now former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion St-Pierre has shared his opinion.

“I think right now he’s the best pound-for-pound right now,” St-Pierre said to coach Firas Zahabi on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel. Because of his last few performances. Just amazing. An amazing showcase of heart, too, because he had a bad cut on his forehead and Poirier gave him a tough time. Pushed the pace to the edge, and I think that fight is going to make Makhachev even better. These are the fights that make you grow.”

Zahabi asked St-Pierre what he thinks Makhachev’s ceiling in the sport looks like given his recent success and what could be on the horizon. “Rush” is considered by most to be in the top-three fighters in all of MMA history, and arguably at the top of the list.

St-Pierre thinks Makhachev, 33, is well on his way to joining that even bigger discussion, so long as he stays the course.

“He’s already starting to get to that status right now (as an all-time great),” St-Pierre said. “Beating Volkanovski and now his last few performances are amazing.”

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Dustin Poirier ‘leaning towards being done’ with MMA but ‘scared’ to retire prematurely

Dustin Poirier is conflicted as he tries to come to a definitive decision about his fighting future.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] is conflicted as he tries to come to a definitive decision about his fighting future.

Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) made it clear entering and coming out of his title-fight loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this month that his days of active competition could be done as he made a final bid at the undisputed championship.

The result didn’t go his way, and Poirier has spent the past nine days since the fight trying to determine what’s next. But he hasn’t been able to find an answer.

“Even this far removed from the fight, I still don’t know,” Poirier told “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani on Monday. “I’m kind of looking for clarity. Searching myself and taking it one day at a time. But I don’t know. I don’t know what’s next.

“I can’t say I’ll never fight again, but I just don’t know the reason. What am I going to fight for? To get into a battle? I love that. But I’ve taken some lumps over the years. It has to be for something. And maybe that something, I’ll recognize that or realize that in the coming weeks. But I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

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Poirier came out of his fifth-round submission defeat with a bevy of injuries including a broken nose, damaged ribs and a knee issue. He said the nose will require surgery, but all told he think he could be cleared to begin a training camp in roughly eight weeks.

Given he amount of physical duress he was facing, Poirier performed valiantly against Makhachev over the course of the fight as a sizeable underdog. And that fact is part of the reason Poirier can’t completely ignore the idea another UFC fight. The 35-year-old understands whatever is left of his prime could vanish in an instant, and he said he fears that time is coming.

“The only thing that makes me not want to walk away is I still feel I can compete with these guys, and I feel I’m still getting better,” Poirier said. “It’s not like I’m slowing down too much or age is getting to me. My reaction time is still good and I know I can beat those guys. And say I do leave, in a year from now it might not be the same if I ever try to come back. I’m scared to miss what I have left to give. But I also don’t want to give too much of myself. I want to give more because I know I have a short window to give the best of myself, but also I’ve given so much of myself to the sport for so long. It’s just like, where do I draw the line? That’s a battle I have to figure out for myself, because I don’t have the answers to a lot of these things.”

Poirier revealed that if he had beaten Makhachev at UFC 302, he would’ve laid the belt and his gloves down in the center of the octagon and retired. He admitted his wife Jolie has encouraged him post-fight to call it a career, and when Poirier is most honest with himself, he said his feelings trend toward obliging.

“I’m leaning towards being done,” Poirier said. “Especially getting the title fight. How many more times would I need to fight to get myself back into position to fight for the world title? I don’t know. But like I said, I’m not going to do it again. I’m not going to fight five more times trying to earn another title shot. I’m in a weird spot and I don’t know how to explain it or what decision to make. I’m taking it day-by-day and see what comes with my mind changing and seeing how I feel.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Daniel Cormier: I don’t know that we’ll ever see anybody more dominant than Khabib Nurmagomedov

Daniel Cormier points out the main difference between Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] points out the main difference between [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] and [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

Both Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) and Nurmagomedov have notched three title defenses as lightweight champion – the division’s record in the UFC. With Nurmagomedov in his corner, Makhachev retained his lightweight title by submitting Dustin Poirier in Saturday’s UFC 302 main event.

Nurmagomedov’s (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) title defenses came over Conor McGregor, Poirier, and Justin Gaethje before he decided to hang up his gloves. Cormier discussed their performances against common opponent Poirier.

“I don’t know that it’s fair to compare them, especially based on the common opponent, because I believe Dustin Poirier was better because he had the opportunity to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen.

“He had felt that strength in grappling – a little bit of a recognition of what he would be facing when he got in the octagon. I was one of the people that said early, and I said I think Islam Makhachev is more dangerous than Khabib because of his striking. But as I reflect on this, as a guy that’s been in there with both, I don’t know if we’ll ever see anyone as dominant as Khabib.”

Cormier explains that Makhachev’s willingness to stand on the feet puts him in more risky situations than Nurmagomedov, who had one specific, but unstoppable way of winning fights.

“I’m not saying that Islam was losing the fight on Saturday,” Cormier said. “There were times, though, where it looked competitive. How often did you see Khabib Nurmagomedov not look outwardly dominant? That is where I think you make the difference. We don’t know what would’ve happened if Khabib stayed for a while, but … history tells us he’d probably still be holding onto that championship right now with about eight or nine title defenses and still kind of dominating the way that he did.

“So when I watch them, I think the dominance is different because Islam will stand with you more than Khabib was willing to. But it was in the idea that you knew exactly what Khabib Nurmagomedov was going to do to you and nobody could stop it. With Islam, sure, you’ve got more things to worry about – you’ve got to worry about the striking. But with Khabib, he literally would tell you, ‘I am going to take you down and maul you and beat you up,’ and no one could stop it. I don’t know that we’ll ever see anybody more dominant than him.”

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Arman Tsarukyan: Version of Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 ‘would be very easy fight for me’

After watching Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, Arman Tsarukyan is adamant he can beat him.

After watching [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] at UFC 302, [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] is adamant he can beat him.

Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) retained his lightweight title with a Round 5 submission of Dustin Poirier in this past Saturday’s main event. Tsarukyan is touted to be the next title challenger, as he’ll look to avenge his UFC debut loss to Makhachev.

Tsarukyan saw Makhachev slow down against Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC), and thinks he’d exploit him if he got tired in their fight. Makhachev confirmed speculation that he was battling a staph infection less than a month out of the fight.

“It would be very easy fight for me,” Tsarukyan said on The MMA Hour. “I could outwrestle him (in) that fight as well because he got tired. When you’re tired, you can’t do sh*t. Even if you have the best skills in the world, if you’re tired, you’re done. All his five-round fights – he got tired with Volkanovski, he got tired with Dustin, and hopefully it’s going to be my key to win this fight.

Poirier hung tough, stuffing multiple takedown attempts and even busting Makhachev open with an elbow. Tsarukyan expected Poirier to perform well.

“I wasn’t (surprised),” Tsarukyan said. “I knew his heart is very good and I told everybody it’s like 60-40. Everybody talk like, ‘Oh, Islam going to win him, 100 percent. He’s not going to give him any chance,’ but I knew it’s going to be tough fight. Dustin, he’s a dog, so I wasn’t like – his defensive wrestling was super good and Islam couldn’t choke him. When he got tired in the fifth round, yeah, he got him.

“It wasn’t his best performance. He got tired and he was slow. I feel like Islam doesn’t have very good conditioning or maybe he got sick or whatever. I’m not judging him because of his last fight, I got to watch all his fights and take him serious. He’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. I’m just going to prepare like it’s best version of Islam Makhachev. Not underestimate him. Dustin can defend his wrestling, I’m going to defend as well.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Jon Anik: Sean Strickland’s ‘next fight should definitely be for the championship’

Jon Anik campaigns for a Sean Strickland title shot after UFC 302.

[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] campaigns for a [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] title shot after UFC 302.

After losing his middleweight title to Dricus Du Plessis in January, Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) rebounded by defeating Paulo Costa in this past Saturday’s UFC 302 co-main event. He demanded a title shot after the win.

Anik agrees with Strickland. He thinks the former UFC middleweight champion has stepped up for the company on numerous occasions before.

“I thought he fought great,” Anik told MMA on Sirius XM. “I thought he could have waited for a championship opportunity and didn’t. I mean, has anyone stepped up for the UFC more than Sean Strickland?

“The main event against Nassourdine Imavov, the main event against Abus Magomedov – both of those had circumstances in which he was stepping up for the UFC, and those came on the back end of him putting his No. 4 ranking on the line against Alex Pereira when no one in the top 10 would’ve fought him at UFC 276. So if anyone deserves to sit right now for 12 months after essentially dominating Paulo Costa, it’s Sean Strickland.”

Strickland’s fight with Costa drew boos from the crowd, and prompted UFC CEO Dana White to say it wasn’t the fight he expected. Anik thinks it’s unfair for Strickland’s performance to be criticized.

“In no other sport do you have to win and entertain. Even in a 1-0 baseball game – and I said this on my podcast this week – everybody’s giving the pitcher credit,” Anik said. “Sean Strickland essentially just pitched a shutout against a very dangerous man in the top seven. I’m not sure what he was supposed to do.

“I know Eric Nicksick came over and apologized to Hunter (Campbell) and Dana a little bit. I knew it wasn’t the fight we expected. I thought it was going to be the Fight of the Night. But Sean Strickland – his skills never lead the conversation because of his personality, and I think his skills need to lead the conversation and his next fight should definitely be for the championship.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Sean Strickland responds to Luke Rockhold’s callout: ‘Xtreme? I’ll f*ck you up for fun’

Sean Strickland fires back at Luke Rockhold’s recent callout.

It didn’t take long for [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] to get a response from [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag].

Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) recently criticized Strickland’s fighting style and performance at Saturday’s UFC 302. Not only that, but he went a step further and said he’d like to get in the octagon and fight Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC).

Strickland took to X to fire back. It looks like he’s interested in fighting Rockhold and would do it at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas rather than the UFC.

“Couple things… I sparred you 1 round, f*cked you up, and you snuck away like a b*tch. This was witnessed,” Strickland wrote. “Also, we were scheduled to fight. I said, ‘Hell yeah, that’s an easy paycheck,’ and you pulled out a few weeks out… Xtreme? I’ll f*ck you up for fun lol.”

Rockhold, a former UFC middleweight champion, is currently not with the UFC. He fought out his contract in 2022 after a Fight of the Night loss to Paulo Costa. Rockhold fought the following year with BKFC and suffered a TKO loss to Mike Perry. After some period of inactivity, Rockhold returned this past April to pick up a KO win over Joe Schilling at Karate Combat 45.

Strickland, also a former middleweight champion, is coming off the split decision over Costa, which put him back in the win column. He was outpointed by Dricus Du Plessis earlier this year, losing his UFC middleweight title.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Dustin Poirier reveals numerous injuries suffered at UFC 302 vs. Islam Makhachev

Dustin Poirier will be healing from multiple broken bones after his title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 in New Jersey.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] will be on the mend for quite some time following his latest bid for the undisputed lightweight title at UFC 302.

“The Diamond” went toe-to-toe with lightweight champ Islam Makhachev for over four rounds before being submitted by a D’arce choke in Round 5 of the UFC 302 pay-per-view event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

As the fight wore on, damage accumulated on Poirier. His nose became progressively bloody, and he mentioned he hurt his leg during a grappling sequence.

Wednesday, Poirier revealed numerous injuries in a social media post after receiving a full health assessment.

“Nose is broken bad, rib is broken, and my ACL is partially torn,” Poirier wrote on X. “Fight life.”

 

The average recovery time for a broken nose and rib is around six weeks. Poirier is looking at a longer average recovery time of three months for the partially torn ACL, depending on whether or not he opts for surgery. Considering the nature of MMA training, Poirier could be on the shelf for longer to make a full recovery.

Poirier, 35, strongly suggested retirement could be a possibility during his post-fight interviews. The former interim champion has traded wins and losses over his past six fights and will now have multiple injuries to deal with before returning to the training room to continue his career if he chooses to keep fighting.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Alexander Volkanovski says activity makes Islam Makhachev pound-for-pound No. 1 over Jon Jones

Alexander Volkanovski thinks Islam Makhachev is the rightful No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] thinks lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] is the rightful No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) submitted Dustin Poirier in Saturday’s UFC 302 headliner to notch his third title defense. In the post-fight news conference, UFC CEO Dana White claimed that former longtime light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] should be No. 1 pound-for-pound over Makhachev.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who lost twice to Makhachev, thinks recent strength of schedule has to play a part in the argument.

“You look at Jon Jones, all right, we get it, you’re going to say he’s the greatest fighter of all time,” Volkanovski told Submission Radio. “But pound-for-pound has to go with, you know, if you fought, where one (has fought) in the last few years, eight times, against the names, and you’ve only fought once. Like, that’s got to come into play.

“But I mean, (if) we’re talking GOAT or greatest of all time top fighters, you know Jon Jones’ name is going to be up there. No one’s saying that’s not the case. But pound-for-pound, I think there has to be some activity there and who you fought lately. Islam has fought some great fighters and won. So, you’ve got to give him a lot of credit for that. I think he’s pound-for-pound.”

Volkanovski expressed interest in fighting Poirier at lightweight while he waits for his featherweight title shot. He praised both Makhachev and Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) for their Fight of the Night efforts.

“I thought he (Poirier) fought great; Islam looked great, as well,” Volkanovski said. “I think a lot of people are expecting Dustin not to do so well. Like, obviously that first round it looked like, ‘Oh no, this is going to be a quick one.’ For him to bounce back from that and then start stopping the takedowns. The first one he got taken down pretty easily.

“So, I was like, ‘Oh, this ain’t a good look.’ But then he was able to stop him in the center, and he did a great job there. So, credit to him, showed toughness. But yeah, man, that’s expected from Dustin. We know he’s a gamer. We know he’s an absolute beast. And we know how good of a fighter Islam is. But I think Islam showed incredible striking, which we already knew.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Luke Rockhold pleads with Dana White to give him Sean Strickland: ‘I will f*cking end this kid’s life’

To say Luke Rockhold wants a piece of Sean Strickland would be an understatement.

[autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] wants a piece of fellow former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag].

Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC), 39, parted ways with the UFC after losing a Fight of the Night brawl against Paulo Costa in August 2022. He was frustrated watching Strickland beat Costa in this past Saturday’s UFC 302 co-main event.

Rockhold doesn’t enjoy watching Strickland fight and would love to throw down with him in the octagon.

“If you were Dana White, would you ever want this guy fighting back for a title? I can’t stand watching this motherf*cker fight,” Rockhold said on the “JAXXON PODCAST.” “F*cking book me. Sign me up, Dana. I will f*cking end this kid’s life, I guarantee.”

Rockhold mouthed off on the UFC in the lead-up to his fight with Costa, so he isn’t sure if they’re on good terms – but he’s open to reconciling.

“(Strickland) just wants to get into like a brawl every time because he’s got that style (where) he comes from such weird angles that he wins a lot of those exchanges,” Rockhold said of Strickland. “He’s going to try and wear you out, but you’ve got to go high, low, you’ve got to wrestle with him. Dana gives me that hall pass, I’ll come in, I will step on that kid’s face.

“I left and obviously if a lot of people paid attention, they saw that week (leading up to) Paulo Costa I had a lot of things to say. I’ve been gone for a while, and I felt like I was mistreated a bit and so – everything is gone. Water under the bridge, but I don’t know if they want to deal with me. But if we did deal, I’d deal right.”

Rockhold and Strickland were booked to fight at UFC 268, but the fight was scrapped when Rockhold withdrew due to a back injury. The pair sparred before, and Rockhold is confident he’d get the better of him on the ground.

“I’ve worked with Strickland. He’s weird, he’s awkward, but he ain’t that good,” Rockhold said. “He’s got decent wrestling, he’s got decent defensive jiu-jitsu. Like, he just gets up. He knows how to get up. He’s decent with that. That’s what he does well.”

Strickland’s loud and unfiltered mouth also rubs Rockhold the wrong way.

“I hate that guy,” Rockhold said. “I know a lot of people look at me, and they just hate me. I see this f*cking kid’s face every time, and it’s just disgusting. He’s a fake little b*tch. He doesn’t even know who he is. I don’t think he believes the sh*t he’s saying these days. He’s just spouting off.”

After losing to Costa, Rockhold signed with BKFC and suffered a TKO loss to Mike Perry in April 2023. Rockhold then picked up his first combat sports win in years when he knocked out Joe Schilling this past April at Karate Combat 45.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Aljamain Sterling agrees with Dana White that Jon Jones is No. 1 pound-for-pound over Islam Makhachev

Aljamain Sterling points to a personal experience to argue why Jon Jones should be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter over Islam Makhachev.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] points to personal experience to argue why [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] should be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.

UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC), who notched his third title defense by submitting Dustin Poirier in Saturday’s UFC 302 headliner, is currently the promotion’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.

Despite Makhachev’s impressive finish, UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] disagrees with the rankings. He thinks former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight champ Jones should be No. 1, and Sterling agrees.

“If we’re talking pound-for-pound, everyone’s criteria is different,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “But I think pound-for-pound, the way I understand it is, if weight was not a factor, size was not a factor, skill-for-skill, who would be the best guy? And I agree, I think it’s Jon Jones.”

Sterling compared Jones’ comeback after more than a three-year layoff to submit Ciryl Gane and become vacant heavyweight champion to Henry Cejudo’s attempt. Cejudo tried to do the same when he came out of retirement to challenge then-bantamweight champ Sterling after almost three years away but fell short.

“I was about to say, three years off and to come back and do that to the No. 1 guy like Dana said, I actually really agree with that,” Sterling said. “If we’re talking about right now, Jon Jones, what he did is super impressive. Henry Cejudo came back, he tried to do what he tried to do and look what happened. He’s ‘the greatest combat athlete of all time,’ no disrespect to him but …”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.