5 UFC fights that exceeded expectations

#2. Max Holloway vs Dustin Poirier 2 at UFC 236:

Dana White wraps the belt around Poirier

Max Holloway faced Dustin Poirier in a rematch for the interim lightweight championship. After what happened at UFC 229, the champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was banned from competition for 9 months. Hence, the interim title bout was set up.

Holloway and Poirier had fought each other at featherweight, seven years earlier in 2012. Both fighters had evolved since then. 'Blessed' was the featherweight champion and on a 13-fight win streak, while 'The Diamond' was also coming off impressive wins over Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and Anthony Pettis.

The fight started and Poirier clearly had the upper hand in terms of power. He hit Holloway and his head went backward. But Holloway showed the heart of the champion and recovered and landed strikes of his own. The fight ended up being a five-round classic with Poirier coming out on top with a decision win.

Watch the best moments from the rivalry:

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#1. Paulo Costa vs Yoel Romero at UFC 241:

Paulo Costa vs Yoel Romero

Yoel Romero vs Paulo Costa was a fight that had all the credentials for fight of the year. The two giants of the middleweight division, who make the weight limit barely booked to fight each other.

Both had high levels of striking. Yoel Romero had the edge in wrestling while as 'The Eraser' was ahead in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Their cardio levels were also identical, which made the contest tough to predict.

When the fight started, Costa backed Romero into a corner with his pressure and dropped him. Romero got back up and dropped Costa after that, which made everyone inside the arena go crazy. Both of them landed big shots non-stop with Romero looking for takedowns as well but Costa did a great job of defending them.

The three-round war was scored by the judges in favor of Costa, who continued to raise his stock with this impressive victory.

Watch the full fight below: