Bloody thriller ends in TKO win for Poirier after Pettis suffers freak injury

A fight that was shaping up as the year's best was met with an anti-climactic end at UFC Fight Night 120.

A bloody war between Dustin Poirier and Anthony Pettis came to an abrupt halt in the third round in Norfolk, Va., where the former was named the winner of the lightweight main event by TKO when the latter suffered what appeared to be a freak rib injury.

The fight-ending sequence came on the mat, with Pettis appearing to have tapped when Poirier transitioned from back control to full mount at the 2:08 mark:

Undeterred by the bout's unexpected conclusion, Poirier got down to brass tacks on the mic once his second straight victory was made official, calling for the winner of UFC 218's clash between Justin Gaethje and former foe Eddie Alvarez - whom he fought to a no-contest at UFC 211 this past May.

Freak injury aside, the evening's headliners more than lived up to their billing, staging two-plus rounds of incessant back-and-forth action. Poirier wasted little time taking the fight to the ground, where he and Pettis traded dominant positions, although the pair eventually made it back to their feet and closed out Round 1 with a furious leather exchange - one Poirier initiated and appeared to have gotten the better of.

The pair made it a grappling affair in the second, with Poirier once again gaining the upper hand and cutting Pettis open before moving into back control and angling for a rear-naked choke. Pettis would not be subdued, though, valiantly reversing positions, trading scrambles with his foe and throwing up a triangle choke attempt to close out a nailbiter of a second round - with his face draped in crimson, no less.

It looked like Poirier would treat Pettis to more of the same in the third, as he took the action to the ground and gained the dominant position once again, only for Pettis to be unexpectedly struck with the injury bug, bringing an end to a fight Poirier was likely winning.

The 30-year-old Pettis - a former lightweight champion - suffers his fifth loss in his last seven after besting Jim Miller in his return from a messy featherweight stint at UFC 213. His promotional record now sits at 7-6.