Dustin Poirier Wouldn’t Call Eddie Alvarez Dirty, But It’s A Close One
Dustin Poirier settled the scored in a rematch against former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez by picking a second-round TKO win to close out UFC on Fox 30 in Calgary, Canada on Saturday (July 28, 2018).
But there was controversy where Alvarez was caught throwing and landing a 12-to-6 elbow to his opponent’s shoulder from mount, and referee Marc Goddard stepped in to order fighters stand up. That’s when Poirier regains the momentum and finished him with a barrage of strikes.
That’s not the first time Alvarez cheat during his fight against Poirier, during their first meeting at UFC 211 Alvarez landed an illegal knee to ‘The Diamond’ head that led to the no contest ruling.
At the post-fight press conference, Poirier addressed Alvarez’s antics, saying he wouldn’t call former champion dirty but he crossed the line pretty much. (Via MMAFighting)
”I don’t want to say somebody’s a dirty fighter,” Poirier said. “But the first fight, you kneed me; the second fight, you tried to elbow me illegally and you gave me a wet willy. We’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
“The weird thing is, when I had him in the guillotine, he stuck his finger in my ear and was pulling me down and the ref warned him.
”And he put his finger right back in my ear. So, this is an old dog that knows a lot of tricks.”
In last ten Octagon appearance, Poirier lost only once, but he is well aware that naysayers will criticise how he came back into the fight and won so that he wouldn’t lose his sleep over such remarks.
“People are always going to point to something, Poirier said. “These checks are going to cash. And I have another win on my record, and another step closer to fighting for the world title. So they can point and say what they want. I’m laughing all the way to the bank and all the way back home to my family with another win that’s been earned. Nothing’s been given and that’s that, man.”
No doubt Alvarez did throw illegal elbows, but it didn’t bother Poirier. When referee Marc Goddard made the call, things were out of Poirier’s hand.
“The ref’s like, he comes up to me in the corner when he stood us up, he said, ‘That’s an illegal strike and I’m taking the position away from Eddie.’” Poirier said. “And I mean, it’s out of my hands, man. You know? Whether he did it on purpose, but that one didn’t hurt me. I let them know, I’m fine, it didn’t even land, it landed on my neck or my shoulder.”
What do you think of Dustin Poirier’s remarks on Alvarez’s illegal tactics during the fight?
