Dustin Poirier Says Anthony Pettis Was A ‘Broken Man’ At UFC Norfolk

Dustin Poirier continued his trek up the lightweight rankings last night (Nov. 11, 2017), scoring a dominant third-round submission (via injury) victory over former 155-pound champion Anthony Pettis in the main event of UFC Fight Night 120 from Norfolk, Virginia.

At the time of the stoppage, Pettis was noticeably in pain, suffering what appeared to be a broken rib. Poirier, however, feels as if “Showtime” was a ‘broken man’ more than anything else:

“I think it was a broken man more than a broken rib. But, that’s my thought on it,” Poirier said during the post-fight press conference.

“Hopefully nothing is wrong with the guy, but I felt like the fight was slowly slipping away from him after that cut. And after the takedowns he realized that I was strong and that I was going to stay on top,” he added.

Although he lost a relatively one sided bout, Pettis did indeed try to finish the fight, attempting multiple submissions throughout the bout. Poirier, however, didn’t seem to be too concerned with “Showtime’s” attack:

“He couldn’t submit me. All them triangles he threw up, I knew his legs were going to be tired once we got back up because I used to be a bottom guy, chase triangles, chase armbars,” Poirier said. That takes a lot out of your legs, especially if you’re a mover like he is, bouncing around. Like I said, I hope is okay, but I think it was more of a broken man than a broken rib,” he concluded.

Now 6-1-1 since returning to lightweight, Poirier has established himself as a legitimate contender in the 155 pound division. Moving forward, “The Diamond” has expressed interest in taking on the winner of UFC 218’s bout between Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje.