Fight #3: Poirier vs Eddie 2
After an illegal knee from Alvarez ended the first fight, Poirier notched another consecutive win which was the biggest of his career by definitively closing the friendly rivalry with the former champion. After losing his first two main events, Dustin won his fourth in a row, and unlike against Gaethje and Miller recently, he never let them far enough into the fight that he was ever in danger. It was the most mature, composed, clean fight against a top-level opponent of his career, and vaulted Poirier directly into title contention.
Although Alvarez had success, Dustin saw every shot coming and never once appeared rocked or troubled, whereas he outdid Eddie in most engagements and left the Philadelphian with an eye that grew blacker and blacker. Poirier asserted himself more and more, staying diligent behind his personally branded high elbow guard but jabbing Eddie up and countering him when combinations or overhands came flying. An ill-advised guillotine attempt put Dustin on the ground for the better part of round two, but when another Alvarez foul causes a stand-up, Poirier gathered his hunches to pounce and end it.
After action restarted, the Diamond landed a hard knee to the chest and immediately launched into a flurry of hooks, landing ten shots in half as many seconds and sending Alvarez reeling to the fence. From then until the fight was stopped, at 0:55, Dustin did not stop throwing strikes against an Eddie Alvarez that crumbed before our very eyes. The clock had read 1:33 when he started his onslaught. Eddie was entirely on the defensive and is known for being one of the best brawlers in the division, but a confident and aggressive Poirier stormed through him with one of his career’s best finishing sequences.
