Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje set to fight for BMF belt at UFC 291

Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje set to fight for BMF belt at UFC 291

UFC 291 has its main event. Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will rematch with BMF Belt on the line. UFC President Dana White made the bout official in a live announcement.

UFC 291 is set to take place on July 29, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah. White added that the decision to put the BMF Belt up for grabs came after Jorge Masvidal retired, which left the title vacant. Poirier and Gaethje are both outstanding choices to hold the BMF title — the pair both consistently get into all-time great fights.

Poirier last fought at UFC 281, picking up a win over Michael Chandler. More importantly, he has proven to be one of the best lightweights in the UFC. Since 2017, Poirier has gone 9-2 with one no-contest. Those two losses came in his two chances at undisputed gold.

Similarly, Gaethje has fought atop the UFC lightweight division since his entry into the organization in 2017. In that time, he has gone 7-4 with all four losses coming to elite competition.

Poirier and Gaethje have each been unable to capture undisputed UFC gold. While UFC 291 will not give them that chance, the BMF Belt is not an awful consolation price.

Poirier and Gaethje first fought in 2018. In that bout, the pair put on a memorable bout that earned them fight of the night. The bout also was in contention for fight of the year. With both fighters still in their prime, the rematch should be equally violent.

The UFC 291 main event should serve as a No. 1 contender’s bout. The only other fight that could result in a title eliminator is Charles Oliveira versus Beneil Dariush. That said, the UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, is expected to defend his title in October. That would mean he could fight the winner between Oliveira and Dariush in the fall with the UFC 291 winner being next in line.

White also announced the remainder of the UFC 291 main card. In the co-main event, Pereira will move up to light heavyweight to fight Jan Blachowicz. Paulo Costa will welcome prospect Ikram Aliskerov to the middleweight rankings. Tony Ferguson will look to get back in the column against Bobby Green. Lastly, Kevin Holland will return to the welterweight rankings with a bout against Michael Chiesa.

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The UFC 291 prelims appear to be better than most cards as well. While we only know two of the prelim fights, they are entertaining. The more consequential of the pair will be a ranked welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira. The other will be a heavyweight clash between Derrick Lewis and Marcos Rogerio de Lima.

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