Did anyone for a moment think that Dustin might pull off the upset last night?

[Arm Barbarian]

I gotta admit, when he started stuffing a bunch of Islams TDs mid fight, and was teeing off on his body when Makachev tried to thai plum him, I started to sit up in my chair. Both dudes covered in blood at the tail end of the third, nose to nose talking to each other as the bell rang - Gangster shit.

He shucked off a couple of clinches, I think in the fourth round and yelled at Islam, "Get the fuck off me."

It started to look like he was beginning to shift the momentum and start landing more shots.

But major props to Mak with that fifth round ankle pick / sweep into that choke.

Crazy good fight. Far more competitive than I thought it would be.

Dustin had me going, "Holy shit...What IF...." for a moment there.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

He had a shot in the 4th and beginning of the 5th... until he didn't. Props to him cause I thought he was going to get steamrolled.

 

[Travis Alexander]

5th round I was legitimately standing up waiting for the Dustin upset with bated breath and anticipation…it had that “tide turning” feeling as the takedowns got stuffed and his energy kept rising.

 

[Gabe]

Not really. He does not strike as confidently at all when he’s constantly thinking about the takedown, looked like he was punching underwater sometimes. Even on the defensive he still lost 3 rounds

 

[OldBoy91]

Did seem like he was turning the tide somewhat prior to the nosebreak, 4th round was his best. Had a good round 2 also.

I think he gained confidence from surviving on the ground in the 1st and then the subsequent takedown stuffs allowed him to grow into the fight.

I did feel he was just a half step behind the entire time though.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Not even before the fight began, no. I did feel that pre-fight excitement for the possibility, but I was thinking to myself, if I placed wagers on a betting site, I'd be throwing Islam and Strickland onto most of my parlays. The matchups weren't highly intriguing, and the results weren't surprising.

On the other hand, I feel like we've become almost accustomed to shocking upsets and surprises in MMA, so that always serves to create some excitement around almost any matchup.

 

[Bojka]

Nah. He was pulling up his short legs more than he was doing anything else. Legit lol'd when Islam timed like 3 takedowns immediately after Dustin dropped both hands to pull his short legs up for the 300th time.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

Nah. He was pulling up his short legs more than he was doing anything else. Legit lol'd when Islam timed like 3 takedowns immediately after Dustin dropped both hands to pull his short legs up for the 300th time.

When I saw him start the short pulling thing right out the gate in the first I was like, "Oh no."

 

[Pious Augustus]

I thought it won't be easy, Dustin's takedown defense is underrated when he doesn't jump the guillotine, Charles couldn't take him down, he got up from under Khabib a couple of times, and survived with BSD on his back for 1 a half rounds.

 

[TrueBias]

I sure as shit hoped so. Bet a measly $50 on him, but I had to with those odds.

Surprised his striking didnt connect more.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

The body shots were paying dividends towards the end of the fight and Dustin looked better than he has in a long time in my opinion. Kept hoping he would chin check Islam and thought it could happen as he shrugged off the take downs later in the fight, but he went up against what I thought looked to be the most in shape Islam we've seen. Great showing by Dustin.

 

[fortheo]

I gotta admit, when he started stuffing a bunch of Islams TDs mid fight, and was teeing off on his body when Makachev tried to thai plum him, I started to sit up in my chair. Both dudes covered in blood at the tail end of the third, nose to nose talking to each other as the bell rang - Gangster shit.

He shucked off a couple of clinches, I think in the fourth round and yelled at Islam, "Get the fuck off me."

It started to look like he was beginning to shift the momentum and start landing more shots.

But major props to Mak with that fifth round ankle pick / sweep into that choke.

Crazy good fight. Far more competitive than I thought it would be.

Dustin had me going, "Holy shit...What IF...." for a moment there.

I thought it was potentially 2-2 going into the 5th and momentum seemed to be on Dustin's side after round 4, so yes, I thought Dustin had a real chance there for a moment.

 

[Ebay]

I gotta admit, when he started stuffing a bunch of Islams TDs mid fight, and was teeing off on his body when Makachev tried to thai plum him, I started to sit up in my chair. Both dudes covered in blood at the tail end of the third, nose to nose talking to each other as the bell rang - Gangster shit.

He shucked off a couple of clinches, I think in the fourth round and yelled at Islam, "Get the fuck off me."

It started to look like he was beginning to shift the momentum and start landing more shots.

But major props to Mak with that fifth round ankle pick / sweep into that choke.

Crazy good fight. Far more competitive than I thought it would be.

Dustin had me going, "Holy shit...What IF...." for a moment there.

It was one of the best most competitive championship fights I've seen in a while. Was feeling bummed out going into the main event cause Morono losing blew up like 6 of my parlays so I was only slightly ahead but right before the fight started my homie convinced me to bet on Islam over 2.5 rounds by sub. The odds were like +600 so I went for it. We were both losing our minds when he cinched up that d'arce choke. Great fight overall. Both guys showed heart and guts out there. If this is Dustin's last fight he should be proud of his performance, that dude always leaves it all on the line in the cage. Nothing but respect all around.

 

[DoctorStoppage]

Dustin did way better on the TDD side than I thought he would, but he didn’t really seem that dangerous on the feet. Islam didn’t seem to be in too much trouble standing with the takedown threat present.

 

[CieloLuce]

Kind of. There were moments when DP needed to push the pace and he didn't do it. It didn't help he was lifting his shorts and Islam was timing a td to it.

 

[DecisionSplit]

It was one of the best most competitive championship fights I've seen in a while.

Was it? They head clashed a bunch of times including one that shattered Poirier's nose. Islam seemed never close to being finished or threatened at all. Poirier was fighting for his life at multiple points nearly every round until he was finally finished. Looked like a fight on its way to being scored 4-1 pretty clearly with Poirier taking high amounts of damage.

Poirier looked winded after round one and his shots all looked much slower and weak than they usually were. He never really wobbled Islam or threw a flurry at him which is his usual style. His lead hook is always crisp and quick but looked underwater slow. And he barely threw out any leg kicks either probably due to being paranoid about takedowns. He just looked overwhelmed and defeated.

 

[Harlekin]

Was it? They head clashed a bunch of times including one that shattered Poirier's nose. Islam seemed never close to being finished or threatened at all. Poirier was fighting for his life at multiple points nearly every round until he was finally finished. Looked like a fight on its way to being scored 4-1 pretty clearly with Poirier taking high amounts of damage.

Poirier looked winded after round one and his shots all looked much slower and weak than they usually were. He never really wobbled Islam or threw a flurry at him which is his usual style. His lead hook is always crisp and quick but looked underwater slow. And he barely threw out any leg kicks either probably due to being paranoid about takedowns. He just looked overwhelmed and defeated.

Can't agree more.

Usually Dustin is spamming his straight left.
This time he barely threw it. First I thought he is focused on the right, since he caught St Denis with it.
But he just couldn't get the timing right and it was more difficult for him against a southpaw.

Also he was slow from the second round on. His arms couldn't be burned out by then, the wrestling wasn't that taxing on the arms. It was weird.
He had no pop after 5 minutes and I thought "man no way he hurts Islam being that slow and stiff"
And his defense looked bad.
He admitted, that he couldn't get his reads on Islam. Couldn't work with his awkward style.

The headbutt cracked his nose and led to a brutal knee. Otherwise he might've gotten his famous second wind.

Well seems like Islam is good at taking your weapons away.


Dustin saying that he can't do 2 a days anymore has me worried. He is getting old. It's ok to think about retirement.
He has a few good fights left in him, but I'm fine with either decision.

 

[FightsFTW]

Had a feeling all week that he might be able to pull it off. Dustin had lots of support and motivation going into this fight. Islam is just too good. Glad he at least gave a great showing, there were definitely moments I thought Dustin might get it done. He landed some nice shots on Islam, but is a tough mfer himself and didn't back down. Was hoping it went to a decision, but what a performance either way from both men.

 

[dcthegod]

i threw 10 on a DP KO just in case. didnt think it was actually going to happen, but there were def a few moments later into the fight i thought the diamond train was about to start rolling downhill on islam, but props to Islam, he played wit some fire last night and handled business. islam def got the better in a bunch of striking exchanges

 

[Yep]

I did before the fight. During the fight, absolutely not.