Barn burner ruled no-contest after Alvarez cracks Poirier with illegal knee

What was quickly shaping up to be a Fight of the Year candidate turned sour just as swiftly on Saturday.

After miraculously rallying back from an onslaught that would have put most mortals to sleep, Eddie Alvarez's heroics reached an abrupt end when he floored Dustin Poirier with an illegal knee that rendered UFC 211's featured lightweight preliminary bout a no-contest at the 4:21 mark of Round 2.

The first knee Alvarez landed to Poirier's noggin was perfectly kosher, the second illegal, as his fellow lightweight's knee was on the canvas when it was thrown, thereby putting him in grounded position and prohibiting knees to the head.

Attending referee Herb Dean ultimately deemed the blow unintentional after Poirier was tended to by cageside officials - thus ruling the fight a no-contest instead of a disqualification win for Poirier - but brought a bitter end to what had unexpectedly turned into a spirited battle nonetheless.

Poirier bore no ill will toward Alvarez for the illegal knee, even scolding the American Airlines Center's disgruntled patrons for booing his foe following the official decision.

After a tentative first round that saw Poirier take the center of the cage and deploy his jab and kicks to the face and body, respectively, "The Diamond" sent Alvarez reeling with a left hand to the button in the second, and just when it appeared he had the former champ dead to rights with the ensuing onslaught, Alvarez shockingly turned the tables by unleashing a bevy of bombs that had Poirier retreating in kind.

The lunacy ultimately brought the pair of fighters against the cage, where Alvarez cracked Poirier with the blow that ultimately put the kibosh on the thriller.

Given the disappointing resolution - or lack thereof - to an otherwise quality clash, odds are the pair of lightweight contenders will see who the better man is in a rematch sooner than later.