UFC on Fox 30: Alvarez vs. Poirier II Ongoing Coverage and Highlights

By
Jesse Gillette
-
UFC Calgary
Credit: Jay Anderson/Cageside Press

The main card of UFC on FOX 30 offered up a killer four-pack of fights Saturday night in Alberta’s Cowtown. Stick with us as we recap UFC Calgary as the night unfolds!

Dustin Poirier has been waiting to get his hands on Eddie Alvarez since their first encounter at UFC 211, which saw ‘The Most Violent Man’ landed a series of illegal knees to the head of Poirier against the cage – the bout was then ruled a no contest. Many felt as though Poirier should have been given a disqualification victory and Dustin subsequently spent the next few months calling Alvarez out, though he’d need to defeat Anthony Pettis and Justin Gaethje to earn his rematch at UFC Calgary (UFC on FOX 30) on Saturday night.

It was revealed on The MMA Hour that Eddie Alvarez’s current contract expires after he completes his obligations on Saturday night and he’s taking a big gamble with this fight. With a win and his manager will be able to negotiate a more lucrative deal and with a loss, he’ll still be taken care of but he’ll have much less bargaining power during negotiations with UFC brass.

With a brilliant performance, the winner of tonight’s Alvarez vs. Poirier II fight could earn a UFC Title shot against the winner of the much anticipated Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight.

Perhaps Dustin Poirier will become ‘Most Violent Man’ tonight in Calgary? We’ll know by midnight.

Before we get into the main event, we’ll be graced by Jose Aldo’s presence as he dances with Jeremy Stephens in the co-main event at featherweight,  #1 ranked Joanna Jedrzejczyk will attempt to prove she deserves to share the octagon with Rose Namajunas a third time as she battles #5 ranked Tecia Torres at Strawweight, and Alexander ‘The Great’ Hernandez will attempt to recreate the success he found in his UFC debut as he makes his second walk to the octagon to fight Olivier Aubin-Mercier to kick off the main card on Fox.

It’s time.

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Lightweight Bout: Alexander ‘The Great’ Hernandez vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier

Alexander Hernandez had one of the most impressive debuts in UFC history, as he dispatched of Beneil Dariush in just 42 seconds at UFC 222: https://twitter.com/BigToneMMA/status/970120189420347392

Aubin-Mercier is looking to win his fifth straight fight inside the octagon as he’s defeated Thibault Gouti, Drew Dober, Tony Martin, and Evan Dunham in succession. Will ‘The Canadian Gangster’ be too much too soon for Hernandez, or can Alexander ‘The Great’ defeat another veteran in spectacular fashion? Don’t blink.Round 1: Hernandez and Mercier traded kicks early on, but neither fighter really connected before Hernandez initiated a clinch against the cage 1 minute into the fight before both fighters separated again and reset.

Hernandez is getting loose and regularly landing combinations that stun Mercier and pressing Mercier up against the cage so he can’t land significant offense of his own. The first frame of this fight has gone by really slowly, but a mistake in this fight means suffering a knockout loss – which neither fighter wants to suffer at this point.

Hernandez is landed the better shots, but Mercier isn’t getting outclassed – just outworked.

Gillette’s scorecard: 10-9 Hernandez.

Round 2: Hernandez goes for a takedown early on but he can’t manage to keep Mercier down and within a minute the tables turn as Hernandez winds up on his back. Mercier attempts to set up a submission on Hernandez’s left arm, but can’t secure it, and ‘The Great’ scrambles for better position.

This has become quite the grappling match, though Hernandez continues to punish Mercier when they engage on the feet.

Gillette’s scorecard: 10-9 Hernandez. Mercier will need a finish in the third round to win.

Round 3: Hernandez continues to dominate the grappling exchanges early in the third round and even even when Mercier finds successs – Alexander Hernandez is always just a slick sweet away from ending up in a position to put Mercier in danger.

Hernandez probably lost that round, but definitely did enough to win the fight. He was the better grappler tonight.

Winner: Alexander ‘The Great’ Hernandez via Unanimous Decision.

Hernandez managed to win his eighth fight in a row, but he did admit to Jon Anik in his post-fight interview that he didn’t have the best outing tonight. “A lot of people booing me. Love me and I’ll love you. Hate me and I’ll love you too,” he said. “I’m sowing the seeds of my legacy, so you better start loving me soon.”

Strawweight Bout: #1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. #5 Tecia Torres

Can the former UFC Strawweight Queen return to form after two losses to Rose Namajunas?

Round 1: Joanna opens the fight with a series of jabs that keep Torres at bay as Tecia stalks Jedrzejczyk around the octagon before engaging in a clinch against the cage.

Joanna flips the position around and now it’s Tecia being held against the cage as Joanna lands elbows and knees. Torres is losing the clinch battle.

Tecia does her best to get a takedown before the horn sounds, but she just can’t make it happen.

Gillette’s scorecard: 10-9 Jedrzejczyk.

Round 2:

Anik notes that Torres looked very discouraged between rounds as her game plan is failing against the former champion.

The Joanna of old is in control of this fight right now and Torres can’t get any type of offense working – it appears as though she’s on a completely different level than anyone but the current champ, Rose Namajunas.

Torres occasionally manages to press Joanna up against the cage, but it’s rinse and repeat from Jedzejczyk and she’s in no danger in the clinch.

Torres lands a flurry on Joanna to close out the second round and Cormier screams out the Jedrzejczyk is hurt – -but it doesn’t appear like she got tagged too badly.

Joanna probably still won that round.

Gillette’s scorecard: 10-9 Jedrzejczyk.

Round 3: Torres decides to stand and trade with Joanna and she’s actually having success even though Joanna has landed many more shots and continues to counter and knock Torres’ head back.

Tecia manages to briefly take Joanna down in the last minute of the third round, but she can’t keep her there more than a few seconds as the former champion scrambles to her feet.

Joanna’s has returned to form and if she continues to fight like that she will be fighting for a title at 115lbs or 125lbs very soon.

Gillette’s scorecard: 10-9 Jedrzejczyk

Joanna’s returned to form and if she continues to fight like that she will be fighting for a title at 115lbs or 125lbs very soon.

Winner: Joanna Jedrzejczyk via Unanimous Decision

Featherweight Bout: #2 Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens

Featherweight Bout: #2 Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens

Round 1: Stephens gets the better of the early exchanges as he utilizes leg kicks, jabs, and hooks to bust Aldo up.

It looks as though Aldo’s lost a step as he occasionally lands punches and then misses wildly on his attempts at following up with hooks.

Stephens lands a few big punches and Aldo’s rocked! Aldo takes a few steps back but throws strikes of his own to keep Stephens honest. Aldo lands two huge shots to Stephens’ body and ‘Lil Heathen’ drops and turtles up! Aldo’s firing off hammer fists and punches in an attempt to put away Stephens as Jeremy can’t help but cover his injured abdomen. That’s it! The referee has stepped in and Jose Aldo wins by TKO:

WOW!

Winner: Jose Aldo by TKO due to body shots at 4:19 of round 1.

Aldo now has the most knockouts In UFC/WEC Featherweight history with 10.

Lightweight Bout: #3 Eddie Alvarez vs. #4 Dustin Poirier

Round 1: Alvarez strikes first and lands two hooks to Poirier’s body early on that back Dustin up against the cage before the feeling out process continues.

Alvarez threatens with a half-hearted takedown attempt but Poirier shrugs it off and the two reset.

Poirier is landing with his straights, but Alvarez continues to attack the body and keeps threatening with leg kicks to keep Poirier honest.

Dustin is eating the harder shots in this round.

Gillette’s scorecard: 10-9 Alvarez.

Round 2: Poirier jumps up for a guillotine attempt and Alvarez’s face begins to turn purple as he fights off Poirier’s tight squeeze. The struggle lasts about 30 seconds and Alvarez pops free.

Now Alvarez is on top and he lands some shots of his own before going for a neck crank that Poirier punches his way out of. Alvarez ends up on top against the cage – but lands an illegal 12-6 elbow and the referee stands the fighters up.

Poirier lands a shot on the chin of Alvarez and then lands a knee and several series of punches kicks and knees afterward to Alvarez – who at this point is pinned against the cage and barely hanging on at this point! A few more strikes and Alvarez falls! Poirier capitalized on the referee’s stand-up call and got the finish just seconds later:

https://www.clippituser.tv/c/lnmvmn

Winner: Dustin Poirier via TKO at 4:05 of Round 2.

Poirier gives the crowd a breakdown of his past opponents and asks for a Title shot before mentioning he’s auctioning off his fight gear for charity.

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