Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are set to resume hostilities at UFC 291–and the “BMF” title is on the line. More importantly than bragging rights or a fictitious title, the winner is likely to face Islam Makhachev by year’s end.
The “BMF” belt was originally won by Jorge Masvidal after defeating Nate Diaz at UFC 244. Though it is a title, it is more of a trinket and not officially recognized by the UFC as a legitimate title.
Aside from that, Poirier vs. Gaethje is set to headline UFC 291. The card is incredibly strong on paper. The two previously met in 2018 in a savage war where Poirier stopped Gaethje in the fourth round.
Both have remained staples in the lightweight division, walking similar paths. Poirier and Gaethje both lost a pair of title fights to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira, but have turned away the rest of the division in exciting fashion.
Alex Pereira makes light heavyweight debut at UFC 291
Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira will also make his light heavyweight debut on the card. His opponent will be none other than ex-champion Jan Blachowicz. Blachowicz and Pereira are best known for their wins over Israel Adesanya, though Pereira is coming off a KO loss from their rematch.
Pereira making the fight with Blachowicz makes sense. Beating Blachowicz, who Adesnaya refused to rematch, would give Pereira some ammo to try and coax Adesanya into another rematch. The duo have fought four times, with Pereira holding a 3-1 edge.
Adesanya was soundly defeated by Blachowicz and quickly returned to middleweight in his next fight. There is no guarantee Adesanya will move up to light heavyweight in the near future. However, Pereira scoring a huge win over a former champion might be enough to entice champion Jamahal Hill into a fight in the near future.
