UFC 208 results: Dustin Poirier gets nod in exciting fight with Jim Miller

Throughout a rollicking, back-and-forth opening round, there were little signs that Dustin Poirier was beginning to pull ahead of his lightweight matchup with Jim Miller.

Miller, the crafty and popular veteran, had his fair share of moments at UFC 208, but Poirier was a half-step quicker and landed a little bit harder. The judges’ scores were 30-27 and 29-28 for Poirier and a bizarre 28-28 scored for a majority decision.

It was a portending of things to come in the main card opener at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, as a pair of fighter with reputations for crowd-pleasing fights lived up to their hype before Poirier slowly pulled away over the final two rounds Saturday night.

Miller, of Sparta, N.J., got things started by peppering Poirier with body shots. But Miller, a submission artist, changed things in his favor by reversing position on the ground and nearly landing a tight choke. The round finished with a wild exchange of leather as fists furiously flew.

That continued in the second round, but it was Poirier who got the better of thing. The American Top Team fighter threw down at a furious pace as he wobbled and bloodied Miller. But Miller managed to keep Poirier honest by landing often enough to slow the onslaught.

In the final round, Miller chopped Poirier to the mat with a wicked leg kick and attempted to turn up the heat. But Poirier, with an obvious leg injury, caught another kick, pushed Miller to the mat, and spent about half the round in top position as the final round turned into a grappling match.

“I didn’t hear a snap but I got wobbly in the third round,” Poirier said of his leg. “My game plan was to get his lead leg, but someone got the memo. That guy’s tough, I hit him with a lot of shots. He’s Jim Miller, man.”

Poirier improved to 21-5 by winning for the fifth time in six fights since returning to lightweight. Miller (28-9, 1 NC) had a three-fight win streak snapped.