Poirier knocks out Alvarez in Calgary rematch

Just as they did in their first fight 14 months ago, Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez came out throwing wild strikes and trading submission attempts Saturday night in the main event of UFC on Fox 30 in Calgary, Alberta.

The ending was less controversial this time than the May 2017 no-contest. Poirier knocked out Alvarez in the rematch with a series of blows against the cage late in the second round, though there was again a dispute about how it got to that point.

An illegal knee landed by Alvarez led to the no-contest ruling in the first fight. This time, the referee stood the fighters up with Alvarez in an advantageous position after the former champion landed an illegal elbow.

Moments later, Poirier ended the drama with a relentless string of punches and knees.

“After the fight, Eddie said, ‘They stood you up,’ like I won the fight because of that,” Poirier said. “Don’t throw (an illegal elbow), just like don’t throw a knee on a downed opponent.”

Poirier now has three consecutive wins broken up by the no-contest. He hopes to draw a top contender in his next fight and earn a title shot early next year.

Two other former UFC champions on the card found success.

Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo, who had lost three of his previous four fights, knocked out Jeremy Stephens with a sequence that started with a left hook to the body in the first round.

“I’m feeling amazing,” Aldo said. “It brought tears to my eyes because I came from two losses and I even questioned myself if I was capable to win again.”

Former women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk kept Tecia Torres at bay with her jab and neutralized her in the clinch to win all three rounds. Jedrzejczyk had lost two consecutive title fights to Rose Namajunas.

Lightweight prospect Alexander Hernandez won his eighth straight fight overall and second since signing with the UFC with a unanimous decision over Olivier Aubin-Mercier.