The whole point of having Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier fighting in the UFC on FOX 30 main event, which took place on Saturday night (July 28, 2018) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was to settle the controversy surrounding their UFC 211 “No Contest” back in early 2017.
Sounded great on paper.
Instead, we got a entirely new controversy to argue about, as Alvarez threw an illegal 12-6 elbow that landed on the shoulder of Poirier. Referee Marc Goddard witnessed the foul and in response, halted the action, issued a warning to Alvarez, and reset both combatants in the center of the Octagon.
And in doing so, freed Poirier from being trapped against the fence, unable to move as Alvarez rained down punishment. Ever the opportunist, “The Diamond” capitalized on said freedom, put his foot on the gas, and went after “The Underground King” with renewed bloodlust.
The end result was a technical knockout win for Poirier and lots of arguing on Twitter.
There is really no way of telling if the untimely stand up played a factor in the outcome of the fight. While he certainly looked to be in a precarious position, Poirier could have very well escaped on his own, worked for a submission, or just got beaten up until the end of the round.
We can’t say it “cost Alvarez the fight,” it simply cost him the position.
Maybe that was the wrong thing to do, perhaps Goddard could have issued that same warning without resetting positions. When a fighter gets kicked in the balls or poked in the eyes, the action is halted and fighters reset, so it didn’t seem like such an outrageous move.
Is it a stupid rule? Yes, but until it gets stricken from the Unified Rules of MMA (read them here), it’s going to be enforced, the same way it was when Jon Jones tried to murder Matt Hamill at TUF 10 Finale back in late 2009.
“It’s just that one stupid elbow you can’t do, straight up and straight down,” referee John McCarthy told MMA Junkie. “If it’s not exactly that, it’s legal.”
We also can’t start judging fouls by how much damage they cause. A 12-6 elbow is not illegal only when it lands on the head or face, it’s illegal, period. There’s absolutely no reason to throw it and Alvarez has been competing in MMA for over 15 years. This is breaking news to him and his corner?
That’s why I take umbrage with the fans screaming for Goddard’s head. He didn’t cost Alvarez the fight. Alvarez cost Alvarez the fight. He threw an illegal strike, then got lit up when he returned to his feet. His offense was illegal and his defense was porous. Combined, it was a losing combination.
And just for the record, Alvarez threw the illegal knee at UFC 211, leading to the No Contest.
For much more on UFC on FOX 30, which also featured a thrilling knockout win for Jose Aldo, head over to our UFC Calgary results and play-by-play thread by clicking here.