Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is the proud owner of one of the most bizarre submission wins in the history of the sport.
Honing his analyst skills since his retirement this summer, Dustin Poirier has weighed in on this weekend’s UFC 322 headliner between former opponent Islam Makhachev and champion Jack Della Maddalena.
And also set to debut his acting chops against a former Octagon rival next year, Poirier has been more than active in his retirement from combat sports.
However, during his initial rise to championship stardom, the Lafayette native took out a murderer’s row at lightweight, including a former titleholder — with a truly bizarre submission.
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Photo by Luke Hales/Getty ImagesDustin Poirier’s body triangle submission win over Anthony PettisAs part of his incredible rise to an interim title rematch with Max Holloway, Poirier embarked on an impressive winning run over former divisional champions.
Stopping two-fight rival Justin Gaethje, the Louisiana native was pitted against fellow WEC alum Anthony Pettis in a high-stakes headliner on this day in 2017.
And as custom in a Dustin Poirier fight of that era, the future Hall of Fame star was splattered with the blood of Pettis throughout the main event clash, en route to a forgotten third-round finish.
This is such an underrated bout, I think due to the stoppage being so anticlimactic, but while it lasted it was extremely entertaining fight!
Beautiful striking and what’s even more impressive is the slick grappling exchanges, this shows how well-rounded Dustin Poirier actually… pic.twitter.com/S109NwgnzQ
— Mixed Martial Aus 🇦🇺 (@MixedMartialAus) April 20, 2024 View Tweet
With the former champion blood-soaked, Poirier locked in a body triangle in search of an emphatic finish, however, rolling to his back, Pettis was forced to tap, with Poirier credited with a submission win via body triangle, after the former suffered a rib injury.
Afterwards, Poirier would go to finish both the above-mentioned Gaethje and then former champion Eddie Alvarez in a rematch, before beating Holloway for the second time in his career.
Dustin Poirier’s title charge against Khabib NurmagomedovMemorably scooping interim spoils in his rematch win over Holloway, before the turn of the decade, Poirier was paired with the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification clash.
And ultimately falling to the hands of the Russian icon in a third-round loss, Poirier had more than a few notable moments in the clash, however.
So much so, in fact, Nurmagomedov revealed this week how during a particular exchange, his late father Abdulmanap — who was in his corner — was the most “nervous” he ever was during his UFC run.
