Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez fought to a second-round no contest last year in a crazy fight, ending with Alvarez landing an illegal knee on his opponent.
The rematch, which took place last night in Calgary at UFC on FOX 30, was equally wild, but this time had a definitive, conclusive ending.
The pair fought a close first round, with Alvarez landing some nice punch combinations to the body and above, while Poirier scored from a distance.
But it was the second round which stole the headlines of this five-round contest.
As Alvarez shot for the takedown, Poirier grabbed a guillotine choke as the second stanza begun. However, Alvarez got out of his foe’s tight squeeze to advance position on the ground to apply a tight neck crank of his own.
This time, Poirier escaped. But Alvarez remained in a dominant position on the mat and rained blows down on Poirier… Until he landed another illegal blow – strangely around the same time in the same round as their previous fight – this time, a 12-6 elbow.
Referee Marc Goddard was forced to intervene, stripping Alvarez of his top position and resetting the fight on the feet.
Sensing his opportunity, Poirier threw caution to the wind and blasted Alvarez with a number of strikes which wobbled him. Smartly maneuvering away from Alvarez’s instinctive counter punches, Poirer poured on the punches and punctuated his flurry with an elbow to see the fight waved off in his favour.
It may not make a whole load of sense, but given how fun the first two fights were – and their controversies – no one would be mad at seeing a third fight booked between the pair. Poirier, however, is looking further afield, calling out Khabib Nurmagomedov for a UFC lightweight title fight.
Jose Aldo knocks out Jeremy Stephens to earn first win in two years
He may not have had a win inside the UFC Octagon in over two years, but you should never count Jose Aldo out.
The hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens called Aldo out for a fight to catapult him up to the UFC lightweight title picture for the first time. Unfortunately for Stephens, Aldo was on fine form in Calgary.
Both Aldo and Stephens exchanged fire in the early stages of the first round, but Aldo’s chin held up well while his Stephens appeared affected by the shots thrown from the legendary Brazilian.
The fight turned when Aldo threw a right hand over the top, followed by a digging left hook to the body. Stephens folded like a deck chair and from there, Aldo rained down blows to force the stoppage.
A fun fight from two more-than-willing participants, as Aldo emphatically returns to the win column.
UFC on FOX Calgary: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2 full results
Lightweight: Dustin Poirier defeats Eddie Alvarez by TKO (punches and elbow) at 4:05 of round two.
Featherweight: Jose Aldo defeats Jeremy Stephens by TKO (punches) at 4:19 of round one.
Women’s Strawweight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeats Tecia Torres by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Alexander Hernandez defeats Olivier Aubin-Mercier by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Welterweight: Jordan Mein defeats Alex Morono by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Featherweight: Hakeem Dawodu defeats Austin Arnett by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Islam Makhachev defeats Kajan Johnson by submission (armbar) at 4:43 of round one.
Light Heavyweight: Ion Cutelaba defeats Gadzhimurad Antigulov by TKO (punches and elbows) at 4:25 of round one.
Lightweight: John Makdessi defeats Ross Pearson by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian defeats Alexis Davis by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Flyweight: Dustin Ortiz defeats Matheus Nicolau by KO (head kick and punches) at 3:49 of round one.
Women’s Strawweight: Nina Ansaroff defeats Randa Markos by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Devin Powell defeats Alvaro Herrera by TKO (body kicks and punches) at 1:52 of round one.
