The competition for 2018’s “Fight of the Year” just got much, much steeper.
In Saturday’s UFC on FOX 29 main event, Dustin Poirier handed Justin Gaethje his second professional loss with a TKO early in the fourth round. Poirier vs. Gaethje ended up being exactly as advertised — a brawl in Glendale, Arizona. It was a back-and-forth war in which both fighters had their moments, and will certainly be in the conversation when MMA awards are being discussed in December.
Poirier appeared to have the crisper boxing and outstruck Gaethje 174 to 115 (significant strikes), per UFC.com. He was able to avoid some — but far from all — of Gaethje’s frequent offense, and perhaps had the better gas tank, too. But Poirier had to get through some adversity himself. Gaethje, like he does to most of his opponents, chopped down Poirier’s legs right from early in the fight, and that clearly had a major impact on Poirier’s ability to stand and move around. To add onto that, Gaethje’s constant pressure certainly gave Poirier some problems, but “The Diamond” dealt with it the best he could.
Poirier vs. Gaethje was considered by most a coin-toss fight heading in, and the way it was playing out over the first 15 minutes made that assessment appear to be very accurate. But no one’s invincible — and Gaethje can get stopped, as we saw in his last fight, a third-round knockout to Eddie Alvarez. Poirier landed hard shots on Gaethje early in the first championship round, overwhelming the hometown fighter and putting him away for good.
What was the highlight of the fight?
The highlight of Poirier vs. Gaethje is the fact that it met most expectations, and perhaps even exceeded some expectations, as well. Nothing went wrong. It was a fun fight. It was actually more than that. It was — wait for it — an instant classic. That’s what we all wanted.
We’re coming off Friday the 13th and no one missed weight, no one tripped on any cables, no one slipped in the shower Saturday morning. No one got food poisoning at breakfast, no buses got attacked ... two guys just threw down, put on a show for the Glendale crowd, and both walked away winners. Everything, particularly the UFC on FOX 29 main event between two of the most dangerous fighters on the planet, went as planned.
You know, unlike that UFC 223 card last weekend.
Where do these two go from here?
Poirier is the closest he’s ever been to a title shot. He just beat the former WSOF champ who headlined a UFC card in his promotional debut last year. He beat a former UFC champ in Anthony Pettis prior to Saturday’s win. Besides a setback to Michael Johnson in 2016, Poirier has looked unstoppable at 155 pounds. Ideally, a rematch with Eddie Alvarez is the fight to make, with the winner being hopefully next in line for a title shot.
I hope Gaethje takes a long time off. I’d be very OK if he decides to stay on the sidelines until early 2019. He needs a break after being in three Fight of the Year candidates in his first three UFC bouts, dating back to just last summer. But it is Justin Gaethje — I don’t expect him to take tons of time off. I am very interested, however, to see where he goes from here. He sits just outside the top five at lightweight, but I’m not sure the UFC wants to give him another top-ranked opponent, but instead a bit of a rebound fight. If he fights another monster at the top of the division and gets beat, that’s three straight losses for him, and that’s not a good look. After some time off to let his brain heal up and rest, get Gaethje back in the winning column and then we can start talking about moving back up to the top again.
Watch now, later, or never?
Now. Enough said.
Read Again Brow https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2018/4/15/17239252/ufc-glendale-video-recap-dustin-poirier-stops-justin-gaethje-in-brutal-war-mma-news-resultsBagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "UFC on FOX 29 video recap: Dustin Poirier stops Justin Gaethje in brutal war"
Post a Comment