Ever since the frustrating conclusion of Eddie Alvarez vs Dustin Poirier, a rematch has been eagerly anticipated.
The first time Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier threw down, it was on course to be the fight of the year. Poirier had the better of the earlier exchanges and looked close to finishing 'the Underground King'. However, Alvarez dug deep, ripped 'the Diamond's body and appeared to be getting momentum.
Then, it was all over in an incredibly unsatisfactory way. Alvarez scored a takedown against the fence and went for a choke. Failing that, he began firing knees to the dome. Several of these were illegal as both Poirier's hand and knee were on the mat when they landed. Poirier slumped to the mat face-first when the last one landed flush.
Herb Dean was forced to stop it once Poirier said that his vision had become blurry. He concluded that Alvarez, whose eye had become pretty swollen, wasn't able to see where his opponent's hands were and therefore didn't know he was committing a foul. It went down on their records as a 'No Contest'.
https://twitter.com/TalkMMA/status/863575178055483393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Running it back
Poirier has been consistently calling for a rematch since UFC 211. However, the UFC had other plans for Alvarez. After that fight, Alvarez coached opposite Justin Gaethje in the Ultimate Fighter and then proceeded to hand the former WSOF champ his first ever knockout loss.
In the meantime, Poirier has scored consecutive knockout victories against former 155 lb king Anthony Pettis and Gaethje. The last win thrust Poirier into title contention, but that picture is blurry. Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor is expected to be the next title fight which would leave the rest of the contenders waiting.
Well, Alvarez finally accepted the offer to fight Poirier again, this time in Calgary at the end of July. After so many weeks of Poirier hounding him for the do-over, he appeared to make the announcement on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Ealvarezfight/status/994599154419752961
Hold your horses
Six days before Alvarez's tweet, Poirier sent out a very significant tweet. After becoming fed up with Alvarez dragging his feet, Poirier set a deadline for the contract to be signed.
https://twitter.com/DustinPoirier/status/992436675711299585
It seems as though there was a little more to that tweet from Poirier than just an attempt to pressure Alvarez into putting pen to paper. As Brett Okamoto of ESPN is reporting, Poirier is not happy with how long Alzarez took to accept the offer. As of right now, there is no fight.
https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/994608848626302976
https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/994610639795470337
Why MMA Gods? Why do you make us endure CM Punk vs Mike Jackson, but don't grant us Poirier vs Alvarez II?
