Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are set to run again their 2018 Combat of the Yr at UFC 291 in Salt Lake Metropolis on Saturday. Whereas the primary assembly didn’t have a title at stake, the rematch places the ceremonial “BMF” title on the road. The “championship” has no matchmaking or confirmed contractual worth. It is an empty prize for 2 fighters who’ve already earned their reputations as warriors a number of occasions over. Nevertheless it could possibly be a lot extra.
Poirier and Gaethje are undoubtedly among the baddest males on the planet. The pair have written the file books with all-action affairs which have earned them loads of post-fight bonuses. The silver prize shall be strapped round Saturday’s winner by inaugural BMF titleholder Jorge Masvidal. The retired athlete defeated Nate Diaz, one other all-action fan-favorite, at UFC 244 in New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard. The genesis of the BMF championship begins with Diaz and that provides the belt a novel appeal.
“When Nate did his interview that evening, he principally stated ‘that is for the ‘Baddest Mom F—er’ within the recreation,'” UFC president Dana White said of the title’s origins throughout a UFC 244 press convention in 2019. “So, you recognize, that is a type of fights that, after that interview, began to construct a lifetime of its personal by means of the followers and the media. We did not significantly begin speaking about this combat till perhaps a few weeks later in a matchmaking assembly.”
The UFC has a one-foot-in, one-foot-out strategy with the BMF title. It was initially meant as a one-off however has since been revived with the flimsy excuse of Masvidal’s retirement. Masvidal by no means defended the belt, nor was he acknowledged as an lively champion, so there was by no means a title to vacate even supposing he then misplaced the following 4 fights to shut out his profession. Now that we have arrived at The E-book of BMF, Chapter II, it is time to give the belt a correct legacy and determine tips on how to make this a significant title.
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It suits the invoice
The UFC loves to advertise huge PPV occasions with a championship on the road, even in situations the place it’s gratuitous. They’re going to e-book champion vs. champion tremendous fights in divisions with deserving contenders, schedule interim titles even when a champion is comparatively lively, and permit retired former champions to leap the queue. However why are we solely committing midway? The UFC has a hefty occasion quota to satisfy with occasions almost each weekend and PPVs often as soon as a month. The BMF championship does not should be defended each time, however it may as properly be featured extra constantly. Common, lineal BMF fights might give the title a novel status. The extra it is slapped onto random fights each three years, the extra it will lose any semblance of that means. Apart from, Masvidal fought for the UFC welterweight championship instantly after profitable the BMF title and the winner of Poirier-Gaethje 2 shall be on the light-weight shortlist. It is a robust begin to defining the championship not solely as an all-action title, however one that’s typically fought for by the game’s elite.
Giving fighters a second lease on life
There could also be no stronger candidate for a BMF division than Max Holloway, a fighter who has made the transfer to light-weight up to now. “Blessed” stays the second-best fighter in his weight class however three losses to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski have gridlocked him from the title. Holloway will not be getting a UFC featherweight title shot till Volkanovski is dethroned and it does not seem like that’s occurring anytime quickly.
Volkanovski’s reign over the featherweight division presents the chance for plenty of thrilling fighters to briefly pivot, together with: Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega, Josh Emmett, Calvin Kattar and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.
The light-weight division is chock-full of gifted fighters who have to date fallen brief on the championship stage. Poirier and Gaethje are amongst them, as are Michael Chandler, Rafael Fiziev, Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner.
An argument could possibly be made that UFC’s actual BMF is Jim Miller. The 54-fight veteran has carved out a profession so distinctive it has followers and analysts arguing what constitutes a Corridor of Famer. Miller by no means has been or shall be a UFC champion. What he has is probably the most wins and fights in UFC historical past, probably the most finishes in light-weight historical past, and stunning longevity in one in every of MMA’s most shark-infested divisions. Nobody is calling for Miller to combat opponents the caliber of Poirier or Gaethje, however spotlighting growing old veterans is one in every of UFC’s few matchmaking weaknesses. The BMF title could possibly be precisely what our sport’s heroes want: one other likelihood at glory.
Dream matchups come to life
The fantastic thing about defending the BMF championship throughout weight courses is the potential for distinctive matchups that circumnavigate meritocratic expectations and an limitless mixture of prospects. We’re by no means getting Brandon Moreno vs. Charles Oliveira, however having fighters transfer up and down a weight class signifies that — in concept — the BMF title might work its solution to any division. That is a novel idea when you think about the sheer amount of all-action UFC fighters on the roster: from flyweight’s Brandon Royval and bantamweight’s Cory Sandhagen to welterweight contender Vicente Luque.
Gaethje informed CBS Sports activities {that a} dream combat with Holloway intrigues him. Sandhagen named featherweight Yair Rodriguez, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Moreno as very best BMF fights. Even White has claimed that the BMF mythos is standard among the many roster.
“You don’t have any concept what number of of those fighters need to combat for the BMF title,” White said throughout a press convention in Might. “All of them need to combat for that belt. It is enjoyable, it is completely different, so we’ll do it once more.”
