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Justin Gaethje made it abundantly clear who he was rooting for after he watched his former opponent Dustin Poirier knock out Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299.

The stacked night of fights last weekend provided some incredible action for combat sports fans, but perhaps no result was more emphatic and impressive than when Poirier ended Saint-Denis' five-fight finishing streak after he entered the night as an underdog.

Gaethje has shared the Octagon with Poirier on two occasions and stopped the 35-year-old with a head kick at UFC 291 to claim the BMF belt, but “The Highlight” was absolutely thrilled to see his former opponent pick up a huge win at UFC 299 (credit to @Full_Violence for the clip).

The stunning result preserved Poirier’s record of never having lost back-to-back bouts in his nearly 40-fight career, and “The Diamond” has already indicated he’s eager for a crack at UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev later this year.

Many fans were surprised to see Saint-Denis enter UFC 299 as a favorite over the former interim champion, but “God of War” impressively vaulted into the lightweight rankings with a five-fight run of finishes and will undoubtedly learn from his loss to a more experienced fighter. 

The special five-round co-main event between Poirier and Saint-Denis was one of the most highly-anticipated bouts of UFC 299, and Gaethje is also preparing for a huge bout of his own when he defends the BMF belt against former featherweight titleholder Max Holloway on the main card of UFC 300 next month.

This article first appeared on FanNation MMA Knockout and was syndicated with permission.

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