Dustin Poirier may not like Eddie Alvarez very much but he can still appreciate one of his performances.

This past weekend at UFC 218, Alvarez went to war with fellow “Ultimate Fighter” coach Justin Gaethje in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year. Alvarez eventually got the better of Gaethje, landing a huge knee strike in the third round that earned him the knockout victory.

Poirier is the first to admit he’s no fan of Alvarez after facing him earlier this year in a fight that was called a no contest after he suffered a pair of illegal knee strikes from the former lightweight champion but he won’t deny what happened on Saturday night.

“Going into it, I kept going back and forth. I thought Gaethje was going to win and then I thought Eddie was going to win,” Poirier said after watching UFC 218. “Each week leading up to the fight I was switching sides but Eddie fought a smart fight. It was a lot of in and out movement and he fought smart. I thought it was going to be a brawl and whoever landed flush first was going to be the winner, like it was a coin toss, but Eddie went in there with a good game plan and used good body work and like I said real good in and out movement. Gaethje stands real flat footed and if move in and out on a guy like that, you can really finesse him.”

Compliments aside, Poirier knows that he should have been the one in the Octagon swinging punches at Alvarez after the controversial ending to their fight in May.

Immediately after that fight ended, Poirier asked for a rematch and it appeared he would get his wish until the UFC opted to match up Alvarez with Gaethje instead. Poirier moved onto defeat former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in his last fight, but now he says there’s no more denying what should happen next.

Poirier wants his rematch with Alvarez.

“I really got the bad end of that deal. He got rewarded with a TV show but everything happens for a reason. I got to go out against another former champ and shine. Everything happens for a reason. The big thing now is what do they do. They have to book this fight,” Poirier said. “This is a big fight and it’s a fun fight for me and for the fans. There’s unfinished business so it just has to happen. Even if we didn’t have a previous history, this fight makes sense so we just have to do it.”

In subsequent interviews after the first fight finished, Alvarez began claiming that Poirier wanted out and that’s why the bout ended the way it did with a no contest verdict. Of course, Poirier sees things much differently, especially considering he was the one who ate the illegal strikes courtesy of Alvarez.

“He and I both know what went on in there and no matter what he says in interviews or what his fans say, him and I both know the truth,” Poirier said. “It doesn’t matter to me. He felt it in there what happened. I was in there. We both know what happened.

“It’s just bulls–t. It really sucks but we have an opportunity to make it right.”