UFC 218 results: Eddie Alvarez first to stop Justin Gaethje with sick knee in all-time classic

It was billed as a can’t-miss firefight to determine the most violent man in the sport. It delivered.

Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje battered each other in a brutal striking battle that seemed like, against all odds, it might actually see the scorecards. But nearing the final minute of the final round, a knee from Alvarez (29-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) put Gaethje (18-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) down, and a couple more punches brought the TKO stoppage at the 3:59 mark of Round 3.

The lightweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 218 event at the new Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Instead of sprinting out of the gates, this was a war that gradually ramped up in intensity as time went on. Gaethje got off to a good start with help from his low kicks, which seemed to buckle Alvarez at times but without hampering his overall mobility.

But before the first round was over, Alvarez managed to fire back with some heavy body shots that seemed to slow Gaethje, who soon found himself swinging and missing at an increasingly elusive Alvarez.

The pace continued to increase in the second, with both men landing solid uppercuts on the feet, and with defense seemingly becoming less of a priority. By the end of the round, Alvarez would return to his corner with his mouth badly swollen, while Gaethje seemed to be feeling the effects of the body punches more and more.

The action reached a fever pitch in the final frame, and Gaethje recommitted to his low kick strategy, chopping Alvarez’s legs out from under him. But Alvarez kept firing back, and with Gaethje seeming to fade somewhat, a knee to the face from Alvarez finally sent him over the edge, dropping Gaethje in a slow-motion, face-forward fall.

Alvarez paused long enough to pose with his fists in the air, then added a couple more blows as a woozy Gaethje reached desperately for his leg. Finally, referee Herb Dean decided he’d seen enough and stepped in to call it off.

For Alvarez, the win is his first since the 2016 victory over Rafael dos Anjos that earned him the UFC lightweight title. Gaethje’s loss is the first of his pro career.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 218 results include:

• Eddie Alvarez def. Justin Gaethje via knockout (knee, punches) – Round 3, 3:59
• Tecia Torres def. Michelle Waterson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Paul Felder def. Charles Oliveira via knockout (strikes) – Round 2, 4:06
• Yancy Medeiros def. Alex Oliveira via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:02
• David Teymur def. Drakkar Klose via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Felice Herrig def. Cortney Casey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Amanda Cooper def. Angela Magana via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:34
• Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Sabah Homasi via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:21
• Dominick Reyes def. Jeremy Kimball via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:39
• Justin Willis def. Allen Crowder via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:33

For complete coverage of UFC 218, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Detroit.)