"Slipped on that water tony was spitting" - Herb Dean's 'People's Elbow' on Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 triggers hilarious reactions on MMA twitter

Dustin Poirier had a rough night out at UFC 291. Although the former interim lightweight champion enjoyed relative success against Justin Gaethje in the first round, a vicious head kick by 'The highlight' knocked Poirier out cold in the second.

Hilariously enough, 'The Diamond' suffered even more punishment in the octagon that night. A knocked-out Poirier was hit with the infamous pro-wrestling move, the people's elbow, by referee Herb Dean. Well, not really; the referee just slipped and fell on Dustin Poirier while trying to stop the fight.

However, that didn't stop UFC's mischievous fan base from having their fill of fun at the referee's expense. The funny moment sparked numerous Twitter reactions.

Reacting to the hilarious moment, @Similac6 theorized how Tony Ferguson's actions might have caused the slip:

"Slipped on that water Tony [Ferguson] was spitting everywhere."

In another hysterical reaction, @hnz_nft wrote:

"I was really surprised too that nobody was talking about the brilliant performance of Herb Dean."

Embodying his inner king t'challa, Twitter user @bezmir369 wrote:

"Give that man a bonus."

@ChrisDevia13 wrote:

"The People’s Elbow! 🤨"

Another surprised netizen, @Mattkapulsky, wrote:

"Did herb elbow Dustin WWE style?"

Another UFC fan poked fun at the veteran referee, saying:

"Herb channeled his inner Rock and landed the people's elbow on Dustin."

Another Twitter user @hammerisloyal wrote:

"Yeah, that was a classic wwf body slam."

Continuing on the Herb Dean roasts @DixonBeats wrote:

"Jheez, even refs have finishing moves now. I respect it!"

Another user @TheMalcolmAng wrote:

"Herb with the 10-8."

@GhostDaddy81 continued the Herb Dean roasts, commenting:

"Herb delivered the final KO."

Image courtesy @espnmma on Twitter

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"Didn't think he was going to go back to it": Dustin Poirier reveals what surprised him in his Justin Gaethje rematch

Dustin Poirier was having relative success against Justin Gaethje up until 'The Highlight' shut his lights out in the second round. Gaethje's leg kicks are the stuff of legends, but the head kick which ended the fight hasn't been known to be a staple in his arsenal.

During the post-fight press conference of the event, 'The Diamond' explained why he was caught off guard by the head kick. The 34-year-old said:

"Yeah [Gaethje is not known to throw a whole lot of head kicks]... No, I was kind of surprised he threw a high kick in the first round, and luckily I had something in between when it landed, but I didn't think he was going to go back to it."

Catch Dustin Poirier's comments below from 3:40 onwards: