UFC Norfolk Reaction: Dustin Poirier Says Anthony Pettis 'Was A Broken Man'

Dustin Poirier vs Anthony Pettis had all the makings of a classic and it certainly lived up to the hype.

The UFC Norfolk main event was scheduled to go five, five minute rounds, but as early as the second, it was obvious that the fight wasn’t going to go the distance. With Poirier landing big elbows to Pettis in round two, the fight was a bloodbath very early on and by round three, both men looked bloodied, battered and bruised as they made their way from their stools.

Speaking after at the post-fight press conference, the victor, Poirier, described the bout as a hard, but an enjoyable test of his skills.

“You know, something about me is that I have cardio for days and especially when we started trading back and forth in those kind of scrambles,” Poirier said. “He was really starting to fade and I got pleasure from that. I enjoy the back and forth, who wants it more. First your on top, now your on bottom, then your back on top. Those deep dog fights, I love that.

“That’s why I won that fight. Those opportunities, those scrambles. That’s why I get up so early in the morning and go for runs. I love to fight and I was just happy that I was in that kind of fight. The crowd was going nuts every time we switched [position]. It was just a lot of fun man.”

One man who didn’t have so much fun was Pettis. He verbally submitted in the third round after suffering an apparent injury to his midsection. Poirier said he didn’t know what the exact injury was, but from his point of view, it was likely more of a mental thing than it was a physical one.

“I think he was more of a broken man more than it was a broken rib,” Poirier said. “Those are my thoughts you know, but you know, hopefully nothing is wrong with the guy, but I felt like the fight was slowly slipping away from him after the cut and after the takedown [attempts] when I was strong.

“He couldn’t submit me. All of the triangles he threw up I knew his legs were going to be tired when we got back up. It has a big impact on the way he fights.