UFC 302 headliner Dustin Poirier got the better of former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez with an absolute onslaught in Calgary six years ago.
The former interim UFC champion at 155 pounds will feature in the main event of this weekend’s pay-per-view card in Newark, New Jersey, where he’s tasked with bringing the reign of Islam Makhachev to an end in the Dagestani’s third defense.
Poirier is now approaching his third shot at undisputed glory and fourth divisional title fight overall. To earn his first — a win over Max Holloway to capture the interim belt — “The Diamond” battered Alvarez in a Canada-held UFC main event.
After an illegal knee from the former champ led to their first showdown concluding in a controversial no contest, Poirier left no doubt about his superiority over “The Underground King” when they ran it back.
In the headlining act on July 28, 2018, both men picked things up after a pedestrian first round, but it was the Louisianan’s strikes that really found a home. Alvarez hung on and absorbed a brutal onslaught before eventually being stopped with 55 seconds remaining in the second frame.
Ahead of Saturday’s event, the promotion has released the full Poirier vs. Alvarez rematch from UFC on Fox 30 on its official YouTube channel.
“The Diamond” will hope to put in a similar performance en route to a long-awaited undisputed title crowning in this weekend’s UFC 302 headliner.
Win or lose, the Louisianan has suggested that the June 1 clash in Newark could mark his final appearance inside the Octagon as an active competitor. With that, he could close out his career by checking the final box on his list of accomplishments.
