UFC 269: Dustin Poirier suffers more title heartache as Charles Oliveira chokes him out to retain lightweight title
DUSTIN POIRIER suffered yet more title heartache as lightweight king Charles Oliveira ruthlessly ended his hopes of becoming undisputed champion.
The pride of Lafayette, Louisiana's bid to win the 155lb title at the second time of asking ended in agony early on Sunday morning in the .
Fan favourite Poirier suffered a devastating third-round submission defeat to Do Bronx, who stretched his unbeaten run to ten fights.
Former interim lightweight king Poirier went into his third UFC title fight adamant it was his destiny to leave the T-Mobile Arena as an undisputed titleholder.
But those dreams were ended by a dogged and determined Oliveira.
A crestfallen Poirier said of the defeat: "It ruins the dream outcome that I had planned to forever be a world champion tonight.
"This year isn't ruined, but the opportunity I had is ruined. And it's alright, that's what it is. I'll look in the mirror like a man."
Champ Oliveira opened up his first title defence with a big flying knee and immediately put Poirier under pressure.
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Poirier managed to weather the early storm and dropped his foe with a big right hand, which he later followed up with a big one-two straight down the pipe.
The Diamond had continued success with his strikes, especially his left hand.
That success led to a takedown down attempt from BJJ whizz Oliveira, which Poirier rolled through.
Oliveira landed several shots after the break but soon found himself rocked by another right hand, although he managed to recover from the heavy shot.
But he was back on the canvas a few moments later after a beautiful counter strike from DP, who briefly jumped into guard.
A fired-up Poirier appeared to abandon his team's game plan of patience and opted to brawl, which led to him getting caught with several necessary shots.
He did, however, have success with some of the wild strikes, although his chin was on the receiving end of a flying knee just before the buzzer.
Oliveira came out aggressive early in the second and looked to secure a takedown.
Poirier defend the attempt but ate a nasty elbow and a knee in the ensuing clinch.
Oliveira tried again to ground the fight and was briefly successful. Poirier almost gave up his back as he tried to negotiate his way out of the precarious position.
Oliveira slid off the back of the challenger but quickly transitioned to an armbar, although Poirier rolled through and eventually ended up on his back in full guard.
A series of nasty elbows from full guard landed for the champ and sparked concern among the pro-Poirier crowd.
Poirier ate elbow after elbow until a brief scramble at the end of a dominant round for the champ.
Oliveira opened the third with two kicks, which, in hindsight, appeared to be an attempt to disguise a takedown.
The 32-year-old quickly got his mitts on Poirier and eventually jumped onto his back, where he looked to sink in a rear-naked choke.
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Poirier battled valiantly to try to fight off the submission whizz but eventually gave up his neck.
Try as he might, he couldn't fight off the vice-like grip and begrudgingly tapped his dreams of winning undisputed gold away.
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