UFC’s ‘BMF’ title returns as Dustin Poirier fights Justin Gaethje for vacant belt

Poirier stopped his fellow American in 2018, and the pair will clash again in the main event of UFC 291

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Wednesday 17 May 2023 00:08 BST
Comments
McGregor Forever trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The UFC’s ‘BMF’ title will make its return in July, as Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje clash in the main event of UFC 291.

Poirier beat Gaethje via TKO in 2018, and the Americans will square off again in Utah, with the ‘Baddest Motherf*****’ title on the line.

The UFC introduced the belt in 2019 as a prize for the winner of a fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, with the latter winning via doctor stoppage. WWE star-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson then wrapped the gold around Masvidal’s waist.

The title has not been involved in any fights since then, and Masvidal retired from mixed martial arts last month after a loss to Gilbert Burns. The UFC is now reintroducing the belt, which will be up for grabs when Poirier and Gaethje meet in a lightweight bout on 29 July.

After beating Gaethje in 2018, Poirier went on to become interim champion in 2019 before losing to official champion Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission later that year. In 2020, Gaethje similarly claimed the interim title before losing to Nurmagomedov by submission while trying to unify the belts.

In Poirier’s last fight, the “Diamond” submitted Michael Chandler in November, a year after Gaethje outpointed “Iron Mike”. Gaethje most recently fought at UFC 286 in March, narrowly outpointing Rafael Fiziev.

The winner of Poirier vs Gaethje 2 may emerge as the next challenger for reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who is due to return to the ring in October.

In the co-main event of UFC 291, Alex Pereira will take on Jan Blachowicz. The bout marks Pereira’s light-heavyweight debut in his first fight since losing the middleweight title to Israel Adesanya. Meanwhile, Blachowicz is a former light-heavyweight champion.

Also, Paulo Costa faces Ikram Aliskerov, while Tony Ferguson goes up against Bobby Green, and Michael Chiesa fights Kevin Holland.

Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in