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Justin Gaethje exacted his revenge on Dustin Poirier at UFC 291. 'The Highlight' scored a brutal second-round knockout over 'The Diamond' to claim the vacant BMF title.
Manners maketh man, and by that logic, Dustin Poirier is an absolute gem of a human being. The Louisiana native was nothing but a class act in defeat.
Footage posted to Twitter by @bjpenndotcom shows a heartwarming moment between the two warriors backstage. In the video, Poirier can be seen hugging and congratulating his foe on the sensational win:
"Bad mother f****r, 'said Poirier'. I didn't see it [the head kick] I didn't see it. Congrats man... Have a great night man; congrats bro."
Watch the heartwarming moment below:
With the win, Justin Gaethje is now on a two-fight win streak. Earlier this year, the 34-year-old had defeated surging lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286.
These two high-profile wins might grant the American a crack at the lightweight title, especially if Islam Makhachev defeats Charles Oliveira at UFC 294.
Poirier is now 3-2 in his last five. The UFC 291 defeat will probably keep the former interim champion out of the title picture in the near future.
"Maybe I should've hit the gas": Dustin Poirier speaks about his loss to Justin Gaethje
Dustin Poirier had a lot of success during the first round of his UFC 291 fight with Justin Gaethje. There were moments in the fight where 'The Diamond' had his opponent hurt. However, Poirier stayed patient and didn't hunt for a finish.
Now after falling prey to a second-round head kick knockout against 'The Highlight,' Poirier believes he should've gone for a finish early on. Speaking to the media during the post-fight press conference, 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):
