The headline bout of UFC 291 features the return of the UFC’s “BMF” title, as two of the sport’s biggest crowd-pleasers get set to face off for the second time with a title belt up for grabs.
The “Baddest Mother F****r” belt was initially introduced as a one-off symbolic championship for fan-favorites Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz to contest at UFC 244. But, following Masvidal’s retirement and Diaz’s departure from the UFC, the promotion’s brass has decided to bring back the BMF belt, and the title will be contested in the main event in Salt Lake City.
Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are two of the most explosive, exciting fighters in any weight class of the UFC, and the two former interim lightweight champions will go head to head in a rematch of their 2018 bout that Poirier won via fourth-round TKO.
Since that fight, both men have gone 6-2 inside the Octagon, with their only two defeats coming in title challenges against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira.
Poirier’s win column featured victories over Max Holloway, Dan Hooker, Conor McGregor (twice) and, most recently, Michael Chandler. Gaethje’s win list included James Vick, Edson Barboza, Donald Cerrone, Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and, most recently, Rafael Fiziev.
Now the pair are set to face off again with the BMF belt up for grabs and, almost certainly, another shot at the undisputed lightweight title on the way.
Ahead of the bout, the UFC’s Countdown cameras caught up with both fighters, and their teams, as they made their final preparations for their pivotal matchup. Check it out via the video player below.