ANAHEIM - At the tender age of 22, Dustin Poirier is coming on quickly. A guy who's carved out a reputation as a dangerous striker, Poirier pulled off a nifty submission against Pablo Garza. A d'arce choke ended things at the 1:32 mark of the second round at the Honda Center.
"I use that choke all the time in the gym and I'm happy I could showcase it tonight. I've got a great jiu jitsu game; eventually someone will put me on my back and I'll get a chance to prove it," Poirier told UFC analyst Joe Rogan.
Garza is an unusually tall 135-pounder and Poirier (11-1, 3-0 UFC) had a little trouble tracking him down over the first few minutes of the fight. In the back end of the first, Poirier began closing the distance and scored with several nice combinations.
Early in the second, Garza (11-2, 2-1 UFC) pulled guard and Poirier settled him down on the ground. He worked from half guard where Garza got a little sloppy and left his head exposed. Poirier locked on the choke and Garza tapped seconds later.
Poirier is a purple belt in jiu-jitsu, who trains under fellow UFC fighter Tim Credeur in Louisiana. Poirier pointed out that Garza's 6-foot frame gave him no trouble because Credeur is 6-3.
