UFC president Dana White explained why former lightweight title contenders Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will fight each other for the BMF belt.
We thought that Poirier and Gaethje is such an awesome fight. Masvidal retired, so we put the BMF up. You have no idea how many of these fighters want to fight for the BMF title. They all want to fight for that belt, so- it’s fun, it’s different. So, we’ll do it again.
Dana White, quoted by MMA Junkie
As a reminder, the bout between Poirier and Gaethje will take place on July 29 at UFC 291. In addition to the BMF title, the fighters will fight for the status of the next contender for the lightweight belt.
The BMF title – the "Baddest motherf--er" belt, was first drawn at UFC 244 on November 2, 2019, in a bout between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz. In this fight, Jorge won by TKO in the third round (doctor stoppage).
Gaethje, 34, had his last fight against Rafael Fiziev in March of this year at UFC 286. Justin won that fight by majority decision. He has 24 wins and four losses under his belt.
Porier, 34, last competed against Michael Chandler at UFC 281 in November, 2022. That fight ended in Dustin's favor by a chokehold in the third round. He has 29 wins and seven losses under his belt.