UFC 302 just witnessed one of the most competitive fights in the lightweight division. Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier went toe to toe against each other in what turned out to be a war inside the Octagon. The 32-year-old not only won the title but extended his winning run to fourteen fights. His impressive performance has now earned him a huge reward from the UFC CEO, Dana White.

Another fighter who also received an award is Kevin Holland for his submission win against Michal Oleksiejczuk. The UFC head honcho recently sat down for his post-fight press conference and shared the details of the night. He said, “Fight of the night was Islam and Poirier. Performance of the night was Holland and Islam. They all won 50,000, congratulations. Actually, Islam won 100,000.”

UFC 302 also broke a significant record as pointed out by Jed I. Goodman on his X account. He shared a tweet which read, “Jon Anik says tonight’s gate is north of $7M. That’s the highest gate for a UFC event in Newark.” Do you think UFC 302 was a successful event for the promotion? Let us know in the comments below.

Makhachev has now successfully defended his title three times in his career. While many felt ‘The Diamond’ can pull off an upset at UFC 302, he proved why he is the best in the division. The Dagestani in of his recent interviews had made it clear that he wants to test himself in a new division. However, it now seems he is desperate to become a two-division champion. During his post-fight press conference, the 32-year-old shared the details of his next big ‘dream’ in the UFC.

Islam Makhachev is all set to become a two-division champion next

After his emphatic UFC 302 performance, Islam Makhachev has his eyes set on the welterweight division. In his recent post-fight press conference, he thanked the crowd for supporting him. Despite hailing from Russia, the Dagestani fighter received a lot of cheer from the people of America. He took the time to acknowledge the fans and said, “Now I think the US fans like me because we show good fight tonight. If they give me chance to come back in Madison Square Garden this is my dream fight in this arena,”. UFC is all set to host its event at the MSG in the month of November and it seems the champion wants to feature in it.

Although his next opponent is yet to be decided, it seems he is all prepared for his next challenge. Talking about challenges, Makhachev made it clear that he will move to the welterweight division next. One of the biggest reasons is the lack of competition in the 155-pound division. While speaking to the reporters at the post-fight press conference, he gave an insight into his future plans. The 32-year-old said, “Of course, who don’t want to be double champion? It’s history, you know, how many double champ we have? This is a dream fight for all fighters to get second belt, you know. This is my dream, and I want to be in the history and people know me as double champ. “

Can Islam Makhachev become a two-division next in his career? Let us know in the comments below.