Poirier stops Gaethje in 4th round of absolute barn burner

Poirier took out Justin Gaethje in the fourth round of their UFC on FOX 29 headliner last night, in what was a brutal, thrilling war.

Poirier has gone 7-1 with one no contest since moving to lightweight and his dominant finishes over Gaethje and former champion Anthony Pettis certainly put him in the conversation as a fighter who might just get the next crack at the lightweight title.

His victory over "The Highlight" wasn't flawless, as he absorbed a ton of damage in the form of Gaethje's lethal inside leg kicks, a seemingly endless stream of which seemed to find their mark on Poirier's right leg. He had stitches in his face, may have broken his left hand. Poirier was able to buy some time, though, and he made it back to the center of the Octagon, where he was able to score with more hard shots.

Justin Gaethje has promised his fans five more unmissable bouts as a professional mixed martial artist following his UFC Glendale defeat to Dustin Poirier last night.

Repeated eye pokes from Gaethje gave Poirier much-needed respite and preserved his lead on the cards, as referee Herb Dean briefly halted the action to dock Gaethje a point for the transgressions.

"Absolutely", UFC president Dana White said about Poirier being a contender to face Nurmagomedov next. We would sleep in broken-down motels and fight the next day, just me and her. The No. 6-ranked Gaethje falls to 18-2. "It is the entertainment factor for me", he said.

"I didn't come into this sport to win or lose". I fight to entertain people. I'm ready to go, and gold is next.

Alex Oliveira filled in as a replacement against Carlos Condit in the co-main event after Matt Brown tore his ACL.

Gaethje's loss to Poirer was named fight of the night, the second consecutive card the 29-year-old has received the honour, and the Arizona native speaks with a level of confidence that makes you believe that he nearly expects to be in "fight of the night" calibre bouts. I want the biggest fights possible.