In what was tapped as a fight between two of the sport’s most violent professionals, Justin Gaethje showed why he’s the baddest.
At UFC 291, Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) knocked out Dustin Poirier (29-8 MMA, 21-7 UFC) with a head kick at 1:00 of Round 2 to become the second-ever BMF champion. The lightweight main event took place at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
The right leg high kick was hidden behind a punch, but somewhat blocked by Poirier’s arm. Despite the defense, Gaethje’s power broke through. Poirier toppled over backward and ate a Gaethje follow-up punch. Referee Herb Dean baseball slid into the picture and waved off the fight.
The stoppage came after a close first round. Poirier even had a moment in Round 1 where he stunned Gaethje with a punch. However, Gaethje hammered Poirier with leg kicks throughout the opening five minutes, perhaps a mental factor that at least in part tricked Poirier into thinking the final blow was going low.
Octagon-side for THE knockout of the night from @Justin_Gaethje 🔥 #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/8NJBHH16Y4
— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2023
The fight Saturday wasn’t the first time Gaethje and Poirier fought. In April 2018, Poirier defeated Gaethje by TKO in a back-and-forth brawl.
Over five years later, Gaethje avenges the loss and becomes the second BMF champion following the retirement of Jorge Masvidal, who attended UFC 291 to present the championship during the official announcement.
Gaethje has now won back-to-back fights. After Saturday’s bout, he indicated he wants the winner of champion Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira, a fight set to headline UFC 294 in October.
Poirier drops to 1-2 in his most recent three. UFC 291 marked his third career TKO defeat.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 291 results include:
- Justin Gaethje def. Dustin Poirier via knockout (head kick) – Round 2, 1:00
- Alex Pereira def. Jan Blachowicz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Derrick Lewis def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:33
- Bobby Green def. Tony Ferguson via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 4:54
- Kevin Holland def. Michael Chiesa via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 2:39
- Gabriel Bonfim def. Trevin Giles via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:13
- CJ Vergara def. Vinicius Salvador via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Roman Kopylov def. Claudio Ribeiro via knockout (head kick) – Round 2, 0:33
- Jake Matthews def. Darrius Flowers via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:37
- Uros Medic def. Matthew Semelsberger via TKO (elbow, punches) – Round 3, 2:36
- Miranda Maverick def. Priscila Cachoeira via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 2:11
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
