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Dustin Poirier and Jan Blachowicz had contrasting reactions to their UFC 291 losses.
Poirier went up against Justin Gaethje in the main event of the card in a highly anticipated rematch with the BMF title on the line. On the co-main event of the night, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz locked horns against Alex Pereira who was making his debut in the 205lbs division.
Both fighters ended up losing their respective bouts despite being the favorites going into the fight. Dustin Poirier was knocked out clean as a result of a head kick in the second round of his rematch against Justin Gaethje. On the other hand, Jan Blachowicz suffered a split decision loss against Alex Pereira in what was a rather close fight.
However, there has been a massive difference in how the two have reacted to their losses. Following his defeat, Poirier took to Twitter to show class and great sportsmanship by applauding Gaethje. He said:
"Incredible @Justin_Gaethje beautiful set up."
On the flip side, Blachowicz took to Instagram and went on to call the referees "a bunch of thieves" as he feels that he was robbed. He said:
"Bunch of thieves, they robbed me. Anyway, thank you all for your support I'll be back"
Dustin Poirier reflects on his loss to Justin Gaethje
While 'The Diamond' was able to find a lot of success in the early goings of his fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 291, he was unable to capitalize on it. Moreover, Poirier even had his opponent hurt but failed to secure a finish.
Speaking of the same during the post-fight press conference, Dustin Poirier reflected on his loss and suggested that he should've gone for the finish instead of being patient. He said:
"I had him hurt, but I knew we had five rounds, and I could kind of tell, he was hurt, but he was kind of baiting a little bit. He wasn't all the way there, ready to be finished... And we were both dry, and it was still one round into the fight... If I did it to him [hurt him] in the first, it was going to happen later on. In my head, I thought it was a veteran move. Maybe I should've hit the gas."
Catch Dustin Poirier's comments below (0:53):
