Justin Gaethje knocks out Dustin Poirier to seize UFC’s 'BMF' title

MANILA, Philippines – The torch has been passed.

Jorge Masvidal passed on the unofficial and symbolic “BMF” belt to Justin Gaethje after his head kick knocked out Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 291 last Sunday at the sold-out Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In the highly anticipated rematch between Poirier — the No. 2 lightweight contender — and Gaethje — the No. 3-ranked fighter, for the vacant BMF title the two engaged in a high-intensity battle from the starting bell.

Showing more patience and giving Poirier different looks, Gaethje punished the former with devastating leg kicks while scoring on powerful jabs.

Poirier gave as good as he staggered Gaethje in the first round, but the latter recovered and countered with heavy shots on his own.

With close to a minute gone by in the second round, Gaethje threw a left punch that caught Poirier. In the same motion, the former threw a right leg kick that caught the latter on the back of the head. Poirier dropped like a marionette whose strings were cut and as Gaethje swooped in to finish the job with hammer fists, referee Herb Dean slid in to protect the fallen Poirier and end the match.

Gaethje celebrated with a back flip from the top of the Octagon.

Gaethje said, "Unlike any other sport on Earth, you rarely get a chance at redemption. We take a loss and have to go home with it. I told Dustin he's my favorite fighter on Earth. Luck and chance are a factor in this cage. I thank God that I came out on the right side this time. It's a crazy sport. I trust in myself, I trust in my abilities, and I have the support of the world. I hope I just inspired you!"

In the co-main event, Alex Pereira, who made his light heavyweight debut, took a split decision over former champion Jan Blachowicz (29-28 28-29 and 29-28).

Blachowicz took the first round as he got the taller Pereira to the ground and nearly slipped in a pair of chokes but that ground control took a toll on the Polish fighter, who looked gassed in the second round.

Sensing that his foe was slowing down, Pereira made it a stand up game in the second round and rocked the Pole.

The final round saw both fighters with a round a piece, but Pereira continued to land strikes. Blachowicz got some licks in but needed something more impactful. He got a takedown with under a minute left but was unable to inflict any damage giving the fight to the Brazilian. 

"It was a very hard fight, but I think I was able to show you guys a bit of my ground (skills),” said Pereira after the fight. “My focus is always the belt. We've had conversations about it, and now I'm going to fight for the belt, it doesn't matter against who. I've put in the work, I've been training with the former champ Glover Teixeira. I'm not changing anything."

Awarded $50,000 for Performances of the Night were Gaethje; Derrick Lewis for his technical knockout of Marcos Rogerio de Lima in 33 seconds of the first round; Kevin Holland for his D’arce choke of Michael Chiesa at the 2:39 mark of the first round; and Bobby Green for his arm triangle submission of Tony Ferguson at the 4:54 mark of the third round.

UFC 291 was televised in the Philippines over the Premier Sports channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the TapGo TV streaming application.