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Dustin Poirier vs. Islam Makhachev

UFC 22-9-0 (1 NC) vs. 18-1-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
22-9-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
18-1-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
37
AgeΔ 3 yrs
34
5'9"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
72"
ReachΔ 2"
70"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
15
Layoff (months)Δ 12.8 mo
2.2
LLWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
WWWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Islam Makhachev owns the mat — in control 51% of cage time, vs a 19% Lightweight norm.
Dustin Poirier carries real power — 0.65 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Islam Makhachev hunts takedowns — 3.22 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.34 Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Dustin Poirier

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 229
Tier 3 — regional circuit 81

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.44 · 22 tier-1/2 wins · 23 finish wins over 41 documented bouts

In the UFC: 15-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.0 wins over .500

Islam Makhachev

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 171
Tier 3 — regional circuit 110

Tier-weighted record quality: 2.04 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 29 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

18615.34/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
5072.27/min · norm 3.44
16274.67/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
3161.42/min · norm 3.38
50.0%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
58.0%norm 43.65%
52.3%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
61.5%norm 56.3%
150.65/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
50.34/15 · norm 0.25

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Dustin Poirier

Distance 81.8% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 11.3% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 7.0% (norm 8.0%)

Islam Makhachev

Distance 69.0% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 12.8% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 18.2% (norm 8.0%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Dustin Poirier

Head 87.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 6.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 8.0%)

Islam Makhachev

Head 80.4% (norm 78.0%) · Body 15.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.6% (norm 8.0%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Poirier L/AAccLightweight med Makhachev L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1415 / 3044 46.5% 38.3% 293 / 603 48.6% 38.3%
In the clinch 280 / 419 66.8% 67.5% 95 / 112 84.8% 67.5%
On the ground 166 / 259 64.1% 68.8% 119 / 159 74.8% 68.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 1490 / 3244 45.9% 35.1% 353 / 703 50.2% 35.1%
To the body 182 / 249 73.1% 69.1% 117 / 131 89.3% 69.1%
To the legs 189 / 229 82.5% 81.8% 37 / 40 92.5% 81.8%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Lightweight: 204 fighters · Lightweight: 204 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs Poirier L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Makhachev L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1285 / 2951 43.5% 38.8% 228 / 707 32.2% 38.8%
In the clinch 197 / 277 71.1% 68.6% 69 / 84 82.1% 68.6%
On the ground 145 / 184 78.8% 68.0% 19 / 29 65.5% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 1048 / 2658 39.4% 35.2% 150 / 566 26.5% 35.2%
To the body 364 / 491 74.1% 68.2% 110 / 178 61.8% 68.2%
To the legs 215 / 263 81.7% 81.5% 56 / 76 73.7% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
2835.9% acc · 1.21/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
4854.5% acc · 3.22/15 · norm 1.34
5863.0% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
2191.3% def · norm 63.7%
70:0220.1% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
113:5851.0% of cage time · norm 18.95%
70:423:02 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
15:521:03 per 15 · norm 2:50
251.08/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
130.87/15 · norm 0.48

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Poirier has more cage time on record.