Confusion Over The Convoluted MMA Rules Ruins One Of The Best Fights Of The Year At UFC 211

Everybody knew Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier were going to put on a show, and for nearly ten minutes, they did. Not only are these two front runners for the Guaranteed Good Fight award, the subtext of the fight was telling a story between two men who were destroyed by Conor McGregor, working their way back up to the top of the lightweight division. Dustin Poirier had won three out of his last four since moving to lightweight, and Eddie Alvarez was coming off being destroyed by McGregor at UFC 205.

This led to a high-level technical battle that had both men showing that they’re still dangerous.

It lived up to and exceeded expectations. Poirier rocked Alvarez, who would come back (as he usually does) to slug his way to a near win. Unfortunately, it was marred by accidental illegal knees. Let’s take a look at what happened.

What? How can these clearly illegal blows be accidental? The only thing accidental about these knees was Herb Dean accidentally not stopping the fight right away and possibly DQing Alvarez. The main problem is that not every state is using the same rules. In some states, a few fingers down on the mat don’t mean a fighter is downed. The first knee would’ve been legal. The second knee, no matter what ruleset, was 100 percent illegal.

A horrible conclusion to a great fight. Damn.