Pic: Dustin Poirier was ahead on two scorecards prior to TKO win vs. Justin Gaethje

To the surprise of no one, the UFC on FOX 29 main event between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje was an absolute war that might just hold up as MMA’s Fight of the Year when 2018 comes to an end.

Poirier hurt Gaethje early in round 4 and was able to get the TKO finish in front of a pro-Gaethje crowd in Glendale, Arizona. It’s a huge win that boosts Poirier’s title shot aspirations, whereas Gaethje has now lost two straight fights by knockout.

The odds of this one going the distance were decidedly low, but it did last long enough for more than half the fight to be scored, and two judges had Poirier winning after three rounds.

Via MMAjunkie’s John Morgan:

There’s a clear error on Sal D’Amato’s scorecard, as Justin Gaethje’s third-round point deduction for multiple eye pokes was not taken into account. So the scorecards should read 29-27 Poirier, 29-27 Poirier, and 28-28. Derek Cleary was the only person who gave Gaethje the opening round, while they all had Poirier winning round 2, and Gaethje taking round 3.

When Gaethje lost to Eddie Alvarez at UFC 218, he was down 20-18 on all three cards before Alvarez knocked him out in the final minute of the final round.

You can make a strong case that Gaethje’s style means that winning rounds is of no importance to him. Unfortunately for him, he once again put himself in a position where he needed a finish to get the win, and wound up getting finished.