Justin Gaethje With head kick win BMF title at UFC 291

There have been a lot of special nights over the course of Justin Gaethje's career. UFC 291, though, has to be at the very top.

In his 29th professional fight on Saturday, Gaethje claimed the BMF title with a highlight-reel head-kick knockout of Dustin Poirier at the minute mark of the second round. Gaethje avenged a TKO loss to Poirier the first time they met in 2018 and likely earned himself a lightweight title shot in early 2024.

On one of the biggest nights of his career, at the Delta Center arena in Salt Lake City, The Highlight began to measure his chances from the first round using kicks from the first round.  But Poirier's experience helped him get through the first round without any problems. But that was about to change. 

The finish was eerily reminiscent of the head kick Leon Edwards used to upset Kamaru Usman in their welterweight championship fight in August inside Salt Lake City's Delta Center. Gaethje threw out his jab and followed with a high head kick, which caught Poirier flush as he dipped away from the punch.

The outcome came at 3:57 minutes of the second round, when Gaethje landed an emphatic straight left that went in without a problem, and without giving Gaethje a chance to settle he landed a left kick that went in between the neck and chin without a problem.

They first fought in 2018, and on that occasion, Poirier picked up a TKO win after four rounds of memorable back-and-forth action at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

However, Gaethje refused to get into another war with ‘The Diamond’ who he peppered with brutal leg kicks for much of their rematch in Salt Lake City.

In the second frame, ‘The Highlight’ sent one of his kicks upstairs and managed to put Poirier to sleep even though his rival got a hand up to block it.

Current champion Islam Makhachev is scheduled to defend the belt in a rematch against Oliveira at UFC 294 on Oct. 21.

"I want to fight for the world championship," Gaethje said. "These guys are fighting in October. Win, lose or draw, I'll give max effort. I'm willing to roll the dice every day."

Poirier (29-8) suffers his first knockout loss since 2016. Saturday marked his first appearance of 2023. Most recently, he submitted Chandler at UFC 281 in November.

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Sarah H

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