The vacant 'BMF' title will be up for grabs when Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje meet in a rematch at UFC 292 on July 29.
Poirier and Gaethje first met in April 2018 with 'The Diamond' stopping his lightweight rival after a back and forth four rounds. The pair are now set to meet again in the main event of an upcoming pay-per-view in Salt Lake City, Utah and there will be added incentive for both men as the 'BMF' title is up for grabs.
The 'BMF' belt, which stands for baddest motherf***er, is not an official UFC world title and the symbolic belt has only been on the line in one past fight. Jorge Masvidal won the title when he stopped Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 244 in November 2019 but with his recent retirement from fighting, UFC boss Dana White opted to put the belt on the line for Poirier and Gaethje's rematch.
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Poirier, 34, hasn't fought since tapping out Michael Chandler in their action-packed fight at UFC 281 last November. The perennial title contender, who is the only man to beat Conor McGregor twice, has missed out on the chance to become a world champion twice in his UFC career as he was tapped out by Charles Oliveira in 2021 and Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019.
Gaethje, 34, has gone 2-2 in his last four fights and most recently won a decision against Rafael Fiziez at UFC 286 in March. 'The Highlight' has also had a similar UFC to Poirier as he missed out on the lightweight title twice with submission defeats to Oliveira and Nurmagomedov. Gaethje went on an impressive four fight unbeaten run following his knockout loss to Poirier in 2018.
Also announced for the UFC 291 card is a light-heavyweight clash between former world champions Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira. Blachowicz missed out on the division's world title when he fought to a draw with Magomed Ankalaev last December whilst Pereira lost his middleweight belt at UFC 287 last month when he was brutally knocked out by Israel Adesanya.
Paulo Costa will take on top prospect Ikram Aliskerov at the event whilst Tony Ferguson will face Bobby Green despite the UFC veteran being arrested on suspicion of drink driving earlier this month. Other fights announced for the event include Stephen Thompson vs Michel Pereira, Michael Chiesa vs Kevin Holland and Derrick Lewis vs Marcos Rogerio De Lima.
