Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier to win the symbolic BMF championship at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah, establishing a claim for a crack at the lightweight belt.
Gaethje is the second winner of the BMF championship, having received it from former champion Jorge Masvidal.
After one minute of the second round, the 34-year-old hit a right high-kick on Poirier, 34, to secure the victory.
“I want to fight for the [lightweight] championship,” Gaethje declared.
“These guys are fighting in October, and I want a shot at them.” “Win, lose, or draw, I’m going to give it my all.”
On October 21, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev defends his championship for the second time against Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
Former interim lightweight champion Gaethje, who has 25 victories from 29 fights, 20 of which were by knockout, might face the winner.
Gaethje was knocked out in the fourth round by Poirier in 2018, but he has drastically improved since then and looked confident at Delta Centre.
The first round was intense, as Gaethje and Poirier landed some excellent combinations, ensuring the match lived up to its hype.
The momentum was maintained in round two, with shouts for both combatants echoing across the arena.
Gaethje hit a superbly timed high kick to send Poirier to the mat with one minute left on the clock, similar to Leon Edwards’ victory against Kamaru Usman for the welterweight championship at UFC 278 at the same location.
Poirier was knocked out cold as referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop any additional harm, and Gaethje was shortly back-flipping off the octagon’s top.
“I’ve never thrown it [the head kick] once,” Gaethje remarked.
“Unlike any other sport on the planet, you rarely get a second chance.” When we lose, we have to go home and deal with it. It eats away at us, so coming back to show myself is fantastic.
“Dustin [Poirier] is one of the greatest fighters on the planet, and I’m glad I came out on top this time.
