Former UFC BMF champion gives a solid thumbs up to Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje fight

Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will fight for the vacant "BMF" title with the blessing of the most recent champion. Poirier and Gaethje will compete for the BMF belt in the main event of UFC 291 later this month. While the belt is purely symbolic, it was vacated by Jorge Masvidal when "Gamebred" retired from MMA following his loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. In light of his retirement, the UFC decided to bring the belt back for this upcoming fight, and Masvidal is overjoyed.

3 things you need to know

• Dustin Poirier will take on Justin Gaethje for the vacant BMF title
• The title was previously held by Jorge Masvidal
• Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz to capture the title at UFC 244

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Jorge Masvidal likes the contenders who will fight for the BFM title

With just a couple of weeks left for arguably the biggest fight card of the year to make waves, the former champion of the title, which will be up for grabs in the main event of UFC 291 has laid his thoughts on the fight between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. Poirier and Gaethje will fight for the second time, the last time fought no title was on the line but this time the BMF strap will be on the line. While Poirier prevailed in the earlier meeting between the two, this time odds will be in his favor. However, the bloodthirsty fans would be in for a treat as both these fighters go for the all-out kill. The former champion is impressed with the booking as well and feels they will set fire to the Octagon.

“I love it,” Masvidal said on The MMA Hour. “Keep it alive. They picked the right fighters to do it, that are going to (explicit) give their life. The first BMF fight, you got to see what it should be about: Guys trying to kill each other, and no matter what, pushing forward through. Because if the referee doesn’t stop that, I literally would have to kill Nate Diaz, because he was going to keep coming, keep coming, and keep coming. And I was more than ready to kill him. That’s what it needs to be like. When you get in there, you’ve got to understand, you’ve got to go for it all, put on a show for these (explicit) around the world, live, everybody. And I think they picked the right two candidates to do that.”

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What gave birth to the BFM title?

Nate Diaz came up with the BMF concept in 2019, after winning over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. Diaz said he wanted to defend his fictional belt against Masvidal next. The UFC co-opted the concept, creating the promotion's first title not tied to a specific weight class or tournament since the old Superfight championship in the late 1990s. Masvidal defeated Diaz in the ensuing fight at UFC 244, becoming the promotion's first, and so far only BMF champion.