No rational observer of combat sports would argue against the idea of Dustin Poirier as a bad mother-shut-your-mouth. He just won’t get to take home a shiny belt that says so.
Justin Gaethje’s right shin made sure of that.
“The Highlight” added another one to his reel Saturday night with a second-round KO of Poirier to claim the UFC’s just-go-with-it BMF belt, becoming the second man to earn the prize and accepting the strap from the first man to take it home, Jorge Masvidal.
“I told Dustin he’s my favorite fighter on Earth,” Gaethje said in the cage after the win. “Luck and chance are a factor in this cage and I just thank God I came out on the right side this time.”
The redux of their first meeting in 2018 realistically could never have topped the fight of the year-level original, no matter how much violence-hungry fight fans yearned for it. But the night-capping lightweight contest of UFC 291 in Salt Lake City was fun while it lasted, and that’s what counts.
“This is unlike any other sport on earth, because you barely get a chance at redemption,” Gaethje said. “We take a loss, we have to sit at home and let it eat away at us. We usually never get that chance. So, to come back and prove myself — I believed in myself the whole time.”
Gaethje (25-4, 21 finishes), who fell via fourth-round KO when last he met Poirier (29-8, 22 finishes) in the octagon, chopped away at his fellow former interim UFC lightweight champ with his signature crushing leg kicks throughout the first frame. Poirier’s hands, the most notable weapon in the well-rounded veteran’s arsenal, found a home upstairs and stung his rival, but not enough to put Gaethje in serious trouble before the first break.
There would be no second break. Gaethje, who credits the initial loss to Poirier with refining his all-action style into a more calculated brand of carnage, punished Poirier with a head kick that leveled “The Diamond.” A feinted punch drew the desired reaction from Poirier, allowing Gaethje to get through his rival’s guard in a finish that was eerily reminiscent to the last UFC main event Utah saw: Leon Edwards stunning welterweight champ and Gaethje teammate Kamaru Usman with, yep, a head kick knockout.
The follow-up hammer fist before referee Herb Dean baseball-slid in to stop the punishment 60 seconds into the second was barely necessary.
“If you watch that [2018] fight compared to this fight, it’s night and day,” Gaethje said. “It was a tough lesson to learn, but that man taught me that lesson, and I think God for him.”
In truth, a fight like this hardly needed the BMF belt to emphasize its appeal. And for Gaethje, the belt isn’t even a means to his endgame of becoming, at last, the undisputed UFC lightweight champ.
But it’ll do the trick, almost assuredly, of vaulting into the 155-pound championship fight that follows October’s matchup between lightweight king Islam Makhachev and the man he dethroned, Charles Oliveira.
“You know what I want to do next. I want to fight for the world championship,” Gaethje said. “These guys are fighting in October. I’m going to prove I’m the best in the world.”
Like Poirier, Gaethje didn’t need some leather strap with big ol’ “BMF” emblazoned in metal across it to justify his status as such. Heck, he wouldn’t need Jules Winnfield’s “Pulp Fiction” wallet, either.
It’s a fun prize, no doubt, but Gaethje’s aim extends toward a greater career highlight.