Complete UFC on FOX 30: Alvarez vs Poirier 2 Live Blog
Hello and welcome back to another Saturday Night UFC LIVE BLOG (yes, a real live blog)! Tonight we’ve got a phenomenal free card on FOX to enjoy together live from Calgary (to make up for UFC 149), headlined by Eddie Alvarez vs Dustin Poirier 2, and with former champions Jose Aldo and Joanna Jedrzejczyk on the undercard, so let’s not waste any time and just start talking about some of these matchups!
Eddie Alvarez vs Dustin Poirier 2 is pretty much for the ‘Most Violent’ linear title, “The Underground King” being the current champion after his KO victory over Justin Gaethje back in December. These two faced off a little over a year ago at UFC 211 in what was a clear-cut fight of the year contender before Eddie landed a few illegal knees on a grounded Poirier and the bout was eventually deemed a no contest, so this is not only a possible title eliminator (for who’s next after McGregor/Khabib, or at the very least who will get an interim title opportunity after that fight), but one of the most highly anticipated rematches of the past few years. Personally, I like Poirier, who’s boxing has just improved leaps and bounds over his last few fights, and believe he’s just gonna be a little too crisp for Eddie on the feet tonight. Can’t count former Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez out of this one for a second, though, and his wrestling could absolutely land him a victory with the right gameplan here, but I just don’t see this one becoming a grapplefest. Oh, and I don’t necessarily think that one of these guys will ever face Conor McGregor again, but they’ve both gotta be shaking in their boots a bit at the fact that a win here could open that door. I think both of these fellas probably have nightmares about how they faired against the Notorious One to this day.
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In the co-main event, rising-veteran/journeyman Jeremy Stephens faces his biggest challenge to date in former UFC Featherweight Champion (and historical Featherweight GOAT)
Jose Aldo. I don’t have to spend too much time on this one, because I think it’s going to be pretty one-sided. Despite Aldo not being the fighter he used to be and Stephens being on a recent tear, I just can’t imagine Stephens reaching the levels of improvement needed to even compete with Aldo tonight. Let’s not forget that Aldo’s recent losses come from only McGregor and Max Holloway, two of the arguable greatest featherweight fighters of all time (again, arguable, don’t get your panties in a bunch). He’s still a technical wizard in that cage, and in a three rounder, won’t face (or at least shouldn’t face) the exhaustion issues that he always has late in championship rounds. I LOVE him at +105 here.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk looks to get right back in line for a Strawweight Championship shot at Rose Namajunas when she takes on Tecia Torres, and much like the last fight, I think this one’ll be a dominant win for the former champion. Tecia’s a great fighter, but I think in this division, there’s Thug Rose, then there’s Joanna, and then there’s a big gap, and then there’s everyone else. I hope I’m wrong, though, because Tecia’s scrappy as hell, and if she can be competitive here, it’ll make for an awesome contest.
Finally, in the first bout of the night (and how great is it to say “Finally” after four fights? I love these FOX cards), lightweights on the rise – Alexander Hernandez and Oliver “The Canadian Gangster” Aubin-Mercier – seek to make a name for themselves in the promotion’s deepest division. Both of these dudes are super exciting young fighters who should be entering the cage tonight DETERMINED to earn a highlight-reel finish, so nothing not to love here. I probably lean with the Canadian Gangster here, but it’s crazy how evenly matched these two are on paper.
The main card and the LIVE portion of this blog will both kick in at 8pm EST/7pm Central, and I’ll be livetweeting a little as well using the hashtag #UFCCalgary so make sure to follow along there as well. See you back here in an hour!
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Lightweight Division: Alexander “The Great” Hernandez (+110) vs Oliver “The Canadian Gangster” Aubin-Mercier (-110)
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8:03pm: God DAMN what an opening video package! The sheer violence in Poirier/Alvarez’s highlights alone are electric enough to power a small village. Can’t wait for these fights tonight. Let’s get it started!
8:09pm: Don’t let this long wait ’till the first fight scare you off. UFC on FOX cards are actually the most briskly-paced the company has. As soon as this one gets off and running we’ll be gucci.
8:18pm: Hernandez is doing a phenomenal job pressuring Aubin-Mercier so far in this first round, but Aubin-Mercier is controlling the range well and even slipping in some great jabs when openings appear. Seeing the experience step in there. Pretty evenly matched so far, though.
(END OF ROUND ONE) 8:22pm: Good, well paced, evenly-matched first. Thanks to a late takedown, I’m gonna lean Hernandez here, but I have a feeling these guys were only just getting comfortable and that they’ll start really opening up and getting wild in these next two rounds. 10-9 Hernandez.
8:26pm: Really aggressive guard pull from OAM there followed by a super-quick standup. I ain’t mad at it, but I’m definitely surprised by it. Guard pulling like that in MMA is pretty rare these days.
(END OF ROUND TWO) 8:28pm: With the technical display seen from The Canadian Gangster in the second, I’d say we’re all tied up going into the third and final round. OAM just really controlled so many of the grappling exchanges there and with how many there were, he’s got that one. 19-19 Aubin-Mercier.
(END OF ROUND THREE) 8:35pm: I’ve gotta agree with Daniel Cormier here and give this fight to Alexander Hernandez. Even before he finished that round in a dominant position, the third was his. OAM just didn’t fight with the urgency needed there, and maybe he wasn’t ready for Hernandez’s pace, but whatever it was, he just didn’t have it in him. Great showing for the youngster.
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ DEF. OLIVER AUBIN-MERCIER VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (30-17, 29-28, 29-28)
8:43pm: THE BEST THERE IS, THE BEST THERE WAS, AND THE BEST THERE EVER WILL BE, IN THE BUILDING!!!
Absolute legend. Daniel Cormier showed massive props on commentary for while introducing him The Hitman, and legit sounded like the happiest dude in the world while doing it. It was adorable. Joanna time now though.
Strawweight Division: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (-260) vs Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres (+240)
8:45pm: Joanna’s lookin’ real cute in this picture. Should balance out how afraid of her you’ll be in 15 minutes.
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8:55pm: Listen I think I’m pretty tough mentally, but if Joanna stared me in the eyes and said “Welcome to hell” the day before I was supposed to fight her, well, I’m finding a new profession that day.
(END OF ROUND ONE) 8:57pm: So, here’s a good time for a little lesson actually, for the casual fan: that round was very clearly Joanna’s. Despite Torres showing a ton of grit, which we love here, she didn’t accomplish anything in staying with those takedown attempts, expect maybe eat a few unnecessary knees. But the uneducated would certainly look at that round and see one girl being the aggressor, and one girl being the defender, and think the opposite. Jedrzejczyk’s defense should mean more on the scorecards, however. 10-9 Jedrzejczyk.
(END OF ROUND TWO) 9:03pm: Another one for the former Champion, who looked to get back into vintage form in terms of footwork, feinting, and slipping in that round. Tecia seems to be openly frustrated at her moderate inefectiveness, but landed some heavy hands in the wild exchange at the end of the second. She’ll need a finish in this third if she wants to leave Calgary a victor. 20-18 Jedrzejczyk.
9:08pm: For me, Torres’ refusal to stray from her original gameplan in this fight is a good part of the reason she’s just not at that next level. She is exclusively trying for takedowns she’s got zero luck with at the end of the final round, where she saw success opening up, standing, and throwing. Eventually the grapplefuck gameplan has to be thrown out the window and killer instinct has to kick in. That’s what separates some of the old guard and the new guard in MMA in terms of coaching.
(END OF ROUND THREE) 9:11pm: Third and final goes to Joanna, for all of the reasons I listed above (just extended into the third) who I guess just set herself up for a trilogy fight with UFC Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas! Fine by me. I could watch those two fight forever. Jedrzejczyk 30-27.
JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK DEF. TECIA TORRES VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
9:15pm: How bout Joanna Champion thinking she just won a god damn Oscar with the length of her post-fight interview? Jesus Christ. Start queuing up that “walk off the stage music” if people start thinking shit like wishing Dana White a happy birthday live on air is worth anybody’s time.
9:20pm: Just bumping this tweet while TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt yell profanities over each other.
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Featherweight Division: Jose Aldo (+105) vs Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephen (-110)
9:25pm: Jeremy Stephens just said in that pre-recorded interview that he was “a little bit more better” than Aldo. LOL.
9:33pm: DEM BOYS BE THROWIN’!!!
(ALDO TKOs STEPHENS) 9:36pm: JOSAAAYYYYYYYYYYY ALDO! What a fucking fight, what a fucking chin, what a fucking liver shot. Everything about that was amazing, and I actually don’t know if Alvarez/Poirier could live up to it! I told y’all not to count out the Featherweight GOAT against the “Who da fook is that guy?!” guy. I felt that body shot from my couch in NYC. Fucking OUCH.
JOSE ALDO DEF. JEREMY STEPHENS VIA TKO, FIRST ROUND (BODY SHOT, GROUND AND POUND)
9:45pm: Two thoughts, post-fight: That translator just cracked me (and Trent, who’s watching this card with me) up. Completely mailed it in and said “The champ is back” after a 15 minute Aldo rant. Also, I can’t believe Aldo withstood that onslaught from Stephens in the first considering how his chin held up against McGregor and Holloway. Homeboy was just eating punches nonstop for like thirty seconds, Homer Simpson style. What a fight. What a fighter.
Lightweight Division: Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez (+165) vs Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (-160)
9:47pm: Let’s. Fucking. Go. Violence time.
9:55pm: Eddie Alvarez wins the walkouts, with “Victory” by Puff Daddy, The Notorious BIG, and Busta Rhymes. Actually the first song ever used in my very first Barstool video, where I “fought” Katlyn Chookagian, a little unknown Bantamweight the UFC had just signed, who won her third straight fight on the prelims earlier today setting herself up for a potential Flyweight Championship shot. Fuck yeah, Katlyn!
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(END OF ROUND ONE) 10:04pm: Welp, this fight rules just as much as you’d expect it to. Kinda crazy to think about how badly McGregor starched both of these guys when the skill level is this high. Tonight ain’t about him though, it’s about these boys, and I think Poirier’s up 1-0 after the first. Just seemed to land the cleaner, more consistent shots, and worked much better at his range than Alvarez did his. 10-9 Poirier.
10:07pm: We’re in a full on guillotine-off. Everyone wants a guillotine.
10:09pm: If this fight woulda ended with a 12-6 elbow from Alvarez I woulda lost my mind.
(POIRIER TKOs ALVAREZ) 10:11pm: In an incredibly poetic end to this rivalry, an illegal strike just cost Eddie Alvarez this fight. He hit a 12-6 on Poirier while on top of him, got stood up by referee Marc Goddard, losing his position, and got clipped immediately only to eat a flurry of punches that he couldn’t escape. Fucking phenomenal finish to a very pleasingly violent fight.
DUSTIN POIRIER DEF. EDDIE ALVAREZ VIA TKO, SECOND ROUND
10:16pm: Dustin Poirier officially calls for “Khabibi”. Sorry pal. You ain’t gettin “Khabibi”. He then uses his time to discuss how he auctions his octagon-worn fight kit off after every fight to provide for the middle schools in his community. Classy dude.
Great night of fights overall, and a nice, brisk, watch at that. Whole show is over at 10:17pm EST! Not too shabby. Hopefully ESPN recognizes how much fans love that and implement this sort of pacing in their programming. Thanks for joining me in this live blog as always, and enjoy the rest of your Saturday night responsibly. Goodnight!