In 2018, Dustin Poirier took out Justin Gaethje in a violent affair. Five years later, Gaethje returned the favor, knocking out Poirier at UFC 291 to win the BMF Title.
Gaethje used his strikes and leg kicks to dominate the bout, and “The Highlight” added another to his reel with the fight at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Overall, there were nine finishes on an 11-fight card
Gaethje is now at the top of the lightweight division again and wants to fight for gold. He reportedly awaits the winner of Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2 for the UFC lightweight title on October 21 at UFC 294.
The bout started similar to the last time they fought in 2018, with Gaethje using kicks to damage the legs of Poirier. He also used his unique boxing to break Poirier down. At one point, Poirier did land solid leg strikes, but he couldn’t land a solid blow that would take Gaethje down. They did trade combinations, but Gaethje was landing the better of the two. While Gaethje got cut above his eye, it didn’t affect his stamina.
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Round two looked like it was going to be another violent one. However, Gaethje stopped Poirier in his tracks with a high leg kick that dropped him. It was similar to when Leon Edwards landed one on Kamaru Usman to win the UFC welterweight title, also in Utah. Referee Herb Dean slid as fast as he could stop the fight right when Gaethje landed one last shot for good measure.
After Poirier beat Gaethje years back, both went 6-2, and both bouts lost against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Oliveira. Now the series is tied 1-1, Gaethje is on a two-fight win streak, and Poirier is 2-2 in his last four.
Also on the card, former middleweight champion Alex Pereira edged former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, Derrick Lewis got a quick knockout and undressed, Bobby Green put Tony Ferguson to sleep, and Kevin Holland took out Michael Chiesa.
UFC 291 full card results
Main card
- Justin Gaethje def. Dustin Poirier via KO (1:00 into round two) for the BMF belt
- Alex Pereira def. Jan Blachowicz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Derrick Lewis def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via TKO (0:33 into round one)
- Bobby Green def. Tony Ferguson via technical submission (4:54 into round three)
- Kevin Holland def. Michael Chiesa via D'Arce Choke (2:39 into round one)
Prelims
- Gabriel Bonfim def. Trevin Giles via guillotine submission (1:13 into round one)
- C.J. Vergara vs. Vinicius Salvador; Flyweights
- Roman Kopylov def. Claudio Ribeiro via knockout (0:33 into round two)
- Jake Matthews def. Darrius Flowers via rear-naked choke (2:37 into round two)
Early prelims
- Uros Medic def. Matthew Semelsberger via TKO (2:36 into round three)
- Miranda Maverick def. Priscila Cachoeira via armbar submission (2:11 into round three)