Jorge Masvidal approves of the UFC’s choice for the next “BMF” title fight.
Dustin Poirier (29-7 MMA, 21-6 UFC) and Justin Gaethje (24-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will battle for the latest “BMF” title in the UFC 291 headliner on July 29, which takes place at Delta Center in Salt Lake City and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Masvidal captured the inaugural “BMF” belt when he stopped Nate Diaz by third-round doctor’s stoppage TKO at UFC 244 in 2019. The UFC decided to bring the belt back almost four years later, and “Gamebred” says the promotion made the right choice when selecting the fighters to compete for it.
“I love it – keep it alive,” Masvidal said on The MMA Hour. “Pick the right fighters to do it that are going to f*cking 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 it. 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.
“I was more than ready to kill him. But that’s what it needs to be like when you get in there. You’ve got to understand, man: You’ve got to go for it all. You’ve got to put on a show for these motherf*ckers around the world, live. I think they picked the right two candidates to do that.”
Masvidal is backing his American Top Team training partner Poirier to beat Gaethje again. “The Diamond” finished Gaethje in the fourth round in their 2018 main event barnburner, and Masvidal sees Poirier having even better success this time.
“Obviously I’m leaning heavy toward Dustin – not just because he whooped his ass the first time and mopped him up, but I think he’s going to do it the second time and even better and cleaner,” Masvidal said. “Dustin’s just good, bro, and he keeps getting better. I’m in the gym. I see him. This guy’s just getting better, man.
“I think he’s going to hit Gaethje because Gaethje’s going to be trying to catch up from all the mistakes that he did last time: ‘Let me not do this and let me do that.’ But without saying too much, I think D’s going to catch him by surprise with some new things that he’s got on in the works there and it’s going to end up being a great fight. My boy Dustin, DP, another belt to his collection. It’s going to be a great night, man.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s even hub for UFC 291.
