Kamaru Usman is not a fan of the BMF title.
The inaugural belt was introduced when Jorge Masvidal fought Nate Diaz at UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden. After Masvidal stopped Diaz to claim the title, he stepped in on just days’ notice to challenge then-welterweight champion Usman at UFC 251. He lost the bout by unanimous decision. The pair rematched at UFC 261, but Masvidal lost by knockout.
After Masvidal retired, the BMF title was brought back when Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier at UFC 291. “The Highlight” then lost his BMF title to Max Holloway, also by knockout at UFC 300.
Usman went off on the significance of the belt.
“Why are we talking about this like this is a real title? It’s not,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “This was a hypothetical that was made up because of me. Let’s not forget that myself and Covington were supposed to fight in MSG in New York. The fight didn’t happen. They needed a fight to headline that card. They needed something with some steam. It’s MSG. You can’t just put any fight card at MSG. You got to come correct when you come to MSG.
“So, at that point, what’s the hottest ticket out there? Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal. Of course, you have Nate Diaz with his mystique that he always carries. Nate Diaz had already called out Masvidal in his previous fight where he said, ‘Not too many gangsters doing it like him.’ Dana jumps on, ‘How do we promote this fight? Let’s create this, all right. It’s called the Baddest Mother F*cker belt.’ Come on. Are you serious? That’s why it started.”
Usman also pointed out that every time a fighter wins the BMF title, they lose their next fight by knockout. Current BMF champion Holloway is coming off a knockout loss to featherweight champion Ilia Topuria in Saturday’s UFC 308 main event in Abu Dhabi.
