UFC on Fox 30 Post-Mortem: Northern Exposure

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez on Saturday met for a second time inside the Octagon, as they squared off in the UFC on Fox 30 main event at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. Their first encounter ended in a no-contest and left both men unsatisfied. They promised violence in their rematch and delivered, with Poirier scoring a second-round technical knockout.

It began with a feeling-out session. Poirier appeared determined to stick on the outside and land long, popping shots on his shorter rival, while Alvarez tried to get inside and go to work on the American Top Team rep’s body. The action started to heat up in the second round, where Poirier tried and failed to secure two guillotine chokes. Later in the round, he found himself mounted against the cage, with Alvarez hunting hard shots. However, Poirier benefitted from what was deemed to be an illegal 12-to-6 elbow strike to the shoulder that prompted a warning and restart from referee Marc Goddard. It marked the beginning of the end for Alvarez.

Once the fighters stood, Poirier countered a kick with a vicious left hand that sent “The Underground King” reeling. Sensing blood in the water, he closed in on his stricken opponent and teed off with heavy punching combinations until he had Alvarez backed against the cage. Poirier let his hands, feet, knees and elbows go along the fence, remembering to stay patient until he put down the former Bellator MMA and UFC champion for good. The end came 4:05 into Round 2.

Afterward, Poirier, now 24-5, reveled in his third consecutive victory and called for a title shot against undisputed champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Redemption Song

Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens entered their co-main event headed in opposite directions in the UFC’s stacked featherweight division. Coming off of back-to-back technical knockout losses to Max Holloway, Aldo sought to rebound and prove he could still contend at 145 pounds. Stephens entered the cage on a three-fight winning streak, looking to secure his first title shot with a win over an established former champion. The outcome was expectedly violent and saw Stephens on the receiving end of a crushing liver shot that sent him to the canvas and led to the stoppage soon after.

Neither man was bashful, as they met in the center of the Octagon and started firing away. Aldo tried to chop at the Alliance MMA rep’s legs, while Stephens opted to go headhunting early on. The latter drew first blood, clipping Aldo with a right hand that had him retreating to the fence and “Lil’ Heathen” driving forward with a flurry of punches. The Brazilian stayed composed, covered up against the cage and refused to allow Stephens to connect for a kill shot. With a little more than a minute left in the first round, Aldo blasted the Iowa native with two body blows, the second of which struck the liver, produced a visible reaction from Stephens and put him on the mat. Aldo followed him and cut loose with ground-and-pound until referee Yves Lavigne had seen enough, giving the Nova Uniao star his first win in over two years.

In the aftermath, Aldo admitted he allowed critics to get to him and wondered whether or not he had what it took to compete at the highest levels. The victory served as much-needed affirmation.

A Return to Form

Former 115-pound titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk found herself in unfamiliar territory, as she faced Tecia Torres on the heels of consecutive losses to current women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Against Torres, she attempted to pick up the pieces from a historic title reign and succeeded in doing so, earning a unanimous decision for her first UFC win since May 2017.

It played out similarly to many of Jedrzejczyk’s other appearances under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner. The Polish muay Thai stylist took the center of the Octagon and used crisp, clean striking skills to outland and outmaneuver Torres across three rounds. Jedrzejczyk never allowed “The Tiny Tornado” to find a rhythm, as she worked behind a stiff jab and chopping leg kicks while capitalizing on a significant height and reach advantage. Torres went 0-for-10 on takedowns, per FightMetric.

Once she was done with Torres, Jedrzejczyk called out Namajunas for a trilogy bout, proclaimed she should “bow to the true queen” and suggested the creation of an interim title if “Thug Rose” could not defend the women’s strawweight crown in the near future.

Etc.

Alexander Hernandez defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier by unanimous decision to kick off the main card. In his second UFC appearance, Hernandez thwarted the majority of Aubin-Mercier’s efforts, excelled on the feet and executed repeated takedowns, pairing them with heavy ground-and-pound … Canadian striker Jordan Mein locked horns with Alex Morono and posted a second straight win due in large part to his grappling exploits. He pinned Morono to the canvas for a majority of the fight and stifled his attempts to mount credible offense. All three judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Mein … Featherweight prospect Hakeem Dawodu registered his first UFC victory by taking a unanimous decision from Austin Arnett. The fight was one-sided in Dawodu’s favor, as he let his hands go and delivered damaging kicks to his counterpart’s legs. By fight’s end, his handiwork had hobbled Arnett and resulted in 30-27 scores across the board.