Poirier questions TUF 34 winner’s reaction

Former champion believes Uulu exaggerated after illegal knee

The bantamweight final of the latest season of TUF ended with a dramatic outcome. Dustin Poirier has now shared his thoughts on the matter and, in particular, questioned the reaction to the winner.

Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu won the TUF 34 championship after Mehemmedeli Osmanli was disqualified for an illegal knee strike against an opponent who was on the ground. The fight was then stopped at UFC Vegas 121 at 2:19 of the first round. Dustin Poirier subsequently questioned Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu’s reaction to the illegal strikes. Dustin Poirier spoke with Jorge Masvidal and Chris Weidman on the show “Deep Waters” about the foul that ended the fight. In the replay, Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu appears to grab his opponent’s leg before the referee steps in.

Dustin Poirier claims that Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu’s reaction was fake and that he was exaggerating greatly.

“Here, when he’s about to build up on a single leg, his brain starts working and he’s like, ‘Oh, I just won 'The Ultimate Fighter' if I flop,’ and he flopped”

he said.

Masvidal agreed with this stance, while Weidman didn’t say anything about it. His opponent in this bout, Mehemmedeli Osmanli, also seems to have gone way overboard with Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu, but is that really something to criticize? He won a fight, emotions are bound to run high. It wasn’t a KO, but it was a stoppage victory, which presumably any fighter would be happy about. What do you think? Was the reaction over the top?

To be honest, I don’t understand what Dustin Poirier is getting at with that comment. Let him celebrate when he wins a fight, right? At least, that’s how I see it. But maybe I’m wrong.