Dustin Poirier rallied from behind in the UFC 299 co-main event against Benoit Saint-Denis, after being dominated in the opening round.
‘The Diamond’ headed into the fight as a sizeable underdog on the betting market, something that isn’t common for the 35-year-old. That though, was because he was facing Benoit Saint-Denis who donned a five-fight finish streak coming into this one.
‘God Of War’ came out of the blocks fast in round one, and imposed himself on Poirier early on. The Frenchman showcased his whole arsenal of skills throughout the first five minutes, blitzing ‘The Diamond’ with boxing exchanges, and doing well to get the fight to the mat.
From there, Saint-Denis started to hunt for submissions and did a phenomenal job of transitioning into better and more dominant positions. Several times in round one, he looked as though he had a submission close to being sunk in, but the durability of Poirier showed as he made it into round two.
After seeing so much success in round one, the streaking French contender came back out into round two with the same game-plan, to impose himself on the wilting Poirier. At the beginning of round two, he did just that and again came close to finding a submission again.
Poirier’s experience shone through though and once the fight got back to the feet, he made Saint-Denis pay for his early pressure. A huge left hook marked the beginning of the end for the 28-year-old, who saw his win streak end, at the hands of the ever gritty ‘Diamond’.
Islam Makhachev gives Dustin Poirier his props
Current UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, had his eyes on the fight, possibly watching to see who his next contender could be.
The two clearest contenders, Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira are already locked into fights, possibly leaving the door ajar.