No-quit Poirier gets better of Alvarez at UFC Calgary

DUSTIN “The Diamond” Poirier showed tremendous resolve on Sunday (Manila time) to beat former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion “The Underground King” Eddie Alvarez by technical knockout in the second round of their rematch at “UFC on Fox 30” in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Found himself in early trouble to start the second round, Mr. Poirier just poured it in when he regained his bearing and the opportunity came to take out Mr. Alvarez to come away with the well- deserved victory.

Also winning in their respective fights at UFC Calgary were former champions Jose Aldo, Jr. and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Mr. Poirier found himself under Mr. Alvarez in the second round but an illegal 12-to-6 elbow by the latter forced the referee to have the two fighters back on their feet.

The turn of events proved to be game-changing as Mr. Poirier hit his opponent with a solid knees and shot to the body moments later that signal the end for Mr. Alvarez as the former did not relent after that with a barrage of strikes, sending the former champion to the canvas before the referee stopped the fight at the 4:05 mark of the second round.

The win settled the rivalry between the two, whose first fight in May last year finished in a nocontest.

“Eddie has been talking trash. He said I quit [in our first fight]. I’ll die in here first. This is what I do. I’m living this every day and I’ll never quit!” said Mr. Poirier ( 24- 5) in the post- match interview.

Winning his last four fights, including three over former champions, namely Mr. Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Anthony Pettis, the number four-ranked Poirier expressed his desire to get a shot at the title currently held by Khabib Nurmagomedov.

With the loss, Mr. Alvarez dropped to six losses with 29 victories.

FORMER CHAMPS WIN

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Mr. Aldo and Ms. Jedrzejczyk won their respective fights.

Former featherweight champion Aldo topped Jeremy Stephens by technical knockout in the first round.

Got Mr. Stephens with solid shot to the body, Mr. Aldo showed no let-up after as he pounded his fallen opponent with crushing punches before the fight was stopped at the 4:19 mark.

The win broke for Mr. Aldo (27-4) a two-fight losing streak in the UFC.

Ms. Jedrzejczyk, for her part, outlasted Tecia Torres in their women’s strawweight clash by unanimous decision, 30-27, 3027 and 30-27.

Like Mr. Aldo, the victory also stopped a two-fight losing streak for Ms. Jedrzejczyk.

Also victorious was lightweight Alexander Hernandez over Olivier Aubin- Mercier by UD, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Next for the UFC is “UFC 227” in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 5 (Manila time) that will feature the bantamweight title rematch between reigning champion TJ Dillashaw and former champ Cody Garbrandt as well the flyweight title clash between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Henry Cejudo.

In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost directto-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. —