Dustin Poirier choked out Michael Chandler in the third round as the lightweight rivals delivered on their promise of a brutal battle at UFC 281.
Chandler appeared to have the upper hand in the opening exchanges, having his chin tested a few times by Poirier on the feet before landing a combination which set him up for a big takedown and saw him land further damage to the Louisiana native.
After being rocked himself, Poirier landed a big right hand which put Chandler down and went to work on trying to finish the fight within the first stanza. Somehow, the ex-Bellator champion managed to get to the bell despite a flurry of punches from his rival, with fans on their feet for the duo.
Chandler appeared to recover his bearings in the second and was, in fact, the aggressor in the first exchanges before landing yet another takedown. While on the ground, Poirier made it difficult for his rival to get much off and even went for a submission from his back, but ultimately the wrestler was able to regain control.
Blood was pouring from both men as they grappled for position, with Chandler getting a chance to show off his NCAA Division I wrestling credentials. And he pushed for a finish with ground-and-pound that almost had the referee convinced to stop the bout before a brief verbal exchange with Chandler.
Poirier survived a brutal second-round onslaught to make it to the third and final session. Fans and experts had been clamouring for the bout to be made a five-round affair in the lead-up to the contest, and the pair showed why as they continued to brawl.
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Chandler opened the better in the final round and managed to take Poirier down with what was almost a huge slam. But Poirier turned it around and managed to pull out a submission to get back in the win column by way of rear-naked choke.
"He put his fingers in my mouth to try and lift my neck to get a rear naked choke right here," Poirier said after the fight. "I was like 'come on dude'! The referee told him something but it didn't change the fact that he had the position... Of course [I was in trouble], over against the wall I couldn't see what he was throwing.
"He threw looping, if he threw straight he probably would have got me out of there. I was surprised I got the hook across the body as fast as I did! He was getting up to his knees do I lassoed him around and got a body triangle really fast. He was really explosive and I didn't want to get dumped on my head - who doesn't have jiu-jitsu?"
