Both fighters came out with good technical strikes at the start of the 1st frame, but it was Koch who came closest to a finish when he locked up a tight Triangle choke on Poirier. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Poirier highlighted that the choke was indeed close, and admitted that he almost tapped out.
But Poirier rallied on and almost had a submission victory of his own. After locking in his signature D’arce choke, everything looked to be over for Koch. However, this time it was the 24-year-old who fought through what looked as a close submission attempt as well.
In the end, it was Poirier who did enough to get the judges’ nod.
Check out results for UFC 164 here.
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