Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 94 blew the roof off State Farm Arena last Saturday night (Sept. 17, 2016) in Hidalgo, Texas.
For complete results and play-by-play coverage of “Poirier vs. Johnson” click here.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Uriah Hall, who was knocked silly in the very first round by Derek Brunson in their Middleweight bout (full video highlights here). And Rick Glenn, who got a rude welcome into he promotion by Evan Dunham and a back-and-forth Lightweight affair (recap).
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover now 48 hours removed from the show?
Dustin Poirier.
Going into his 155-pound headlining bout against Michael Johnson, Poirier was the proud owner of a four-fight win streak; one he started after jumping up in weight following his loss to Conor McGregor at 145 pounds. And there was no love lost between these two combatants, as evidenced by their heated weigh-in.
Unfortunately for “The Diamond,” consecutive win number five was not to be, as “The Menace” knocked him out with a sweet combination in the opening frame, followed by some ground-and-pound, to put a halt to his run (see it). For Johnson, the win stopped him from going down three in a row, while the loss forces Dustin back to the drawing board.
And it’s a big blow, really, as it seemed Dusting was finding his stride in his new weight class. And who knows, a win over Johnson would’ve catapulted him higher up the rankings. But, that’s the fight game and your fortunes can change in the blink of an eye.
Still, credit has to be given where credit is due, as Dustin took a fight against Johnson — who was riding a two fight losing streak — which really had no upside to it, other than a rankings boost. But, “The Menace” wasn’t in title contention, or in the top five, which made him a high-risk/low reward fight for Poirier.
But, he took the fight and it ultimately cost him, as Johnson proved that despite his recent skid, he’s as dangerous as ever.
As for what’s next for Poirier, he should continue his luck at 155 pounds. So, perhaps a fight against the loser of the upcoming fight against Beneil Dariush vs. Rashid Magomedov, who thrown down at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) “Latin America” 3 Finale on Nov. 5, 2016, is in order.
At this point it’s just a waiting game for Poirier, as the rest of the fighters ahead of him are all booked. That said, the possibility of getting a top ten opponent next is highly unlikely, which means he’ll have to see how some of the upcoming fights in the division play out before he can get a foe.
I like the options mentioned above, do you have any you’d like to throw up for consideration?