In one of the best nights of fighting in UFC history, Dustin Poirier failed to take the UFC lightweight title after he was choked out by Charles Oliveira.
Former interim champion Poirier was challenging for the undisputed belt for the second time in his career after he lost the first attempt.
His second didn't go any better as the 'Diamond’ lost via submission.
A crazy, action packed first round saw Poirier drop the champion multiple times, but Oliveira stayed focused and dominated his challenger on the canvas for the majority of the second round.
In early in the third round, Oliveira’s pressure paid off as he started with kicks and then quickly jumped on Poirier’s back.
The Brazilian locked in his famous standing rear naked choke and it forced Poirier to tap out.
"I'm a world champion, I'm the man. They can hit me a lot, but I'm going to walk forward," Oliveira said after the fight.
Poirier admitted he was surprised by Oliver's durability and tried to drag his opponent into the later rounds to finish the fight.
"I landed some good clean shots and thought I was going to get him away in the first round," he said. "My game plan was to take my time; I brawled again when I wasn't supposed to.
"The game plan was to take him to the fourth or fifth round and take him apart."
Oliveira moves to 32-8, 1 NC with the win, his tenth in a row. Poirier falls to 28-7, 1 NC.
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